Forever Red
by NixC224
Summary: Forever Red as it was originally meant to be.
1. Chapter 1

Forever Red: The Novel

CHAPTER ONE

The time seemed to go by quickly. Though he had no way of knowing for sure, he assumed it had been nearly four hours since he had landed on the cratered, rocky surface of Earth s only moon. His eyes were beginning to grow weary. All this time spent staring into his trusty micro binoculars had started to dry out his eyes. What he needed was sleep, or so his body told him. His mind and his heart however, told him otherwise.

He risked a quick moment to tug at the hood of his dark crimson colored silk robe. It seemed that no matter how hard you tried, no matter how good you got, the icy cold of space still loomed around you.

Sometimes it made him feel like a rookie again, young, naive, and scared. But he couldn t be scared, not now. This was too important. He d spent the last three years of his life waiting for this. All those lonely nights on the Megaship, lying awake in bed, contemplating their next move, reviewing attack strategies, fighting the space blues...

All that time away from Ashley...it was all for this moment, this night, this time.

Andros, the Red Lightstar Power Ranger, adjusted the focus of his micro-binoculars. The eyes on the device instantly pulled back, allowing him to view the enormous canyon being dug before him in its entirety. Truly amazing the manpower that still remained in this empire after what should have been its ultimate annihilation.  
>But that was just it wasn t it? It had no manpower. That was what had given the Machine Empire its edge over all of its foes during its supremacy. The entire army consisted entirely of mechanical beings. Not a human brain, nor human heart among them. There was only the turning of gears, and the clankety clank of steel upon ground.<p>

He focused his binoculars on a pair of the empire s trademark mechanical soldiers, the Cogs, working tirelessly to jackhammer further into the rock they stood upon. Their golden dome heads, and lifeless circular eyes bounced up and down as they continued to work. Dirt, dust, and grime lined their bodies, some a cold steel silver, the rest a brown brick color. They all walked in the same awkward manner, they all spoke in the same low toned, mechanical voices. Indeed, it was as if they were all one mind, as opposed to several thousand.

Though regardless of their inner workings or appearance, they did appear to be making progress. As they continued to drill away at the rocky surface of the moon, Andros noticed the scaly green skin of what lay beneath, was beginning to come forth.

This was not good at all.

Andros placed the micro-binoculars inside his robe, and looked further down into the canyon. He had to get a closer look. Reaching into the black bag strapped over his shoulder, he pulled out a shiny rectangular device, colored a bright silver. Fighting the numbness in his bare hands, he pressed the one button on the machine s upper right. Instantly, the front wall of the rectangle split open, revealing a small lens.

Andros placed the device up to his right eye, and using the device, began to record the activities within the canyon as he made his way in further.

"Hey you!" a mechanical voice suddenly called. "What do you think you re doing?"  
>Andros instantly dropped into a crouch position, flipping the camera into his left hand, and positioning his right hand on the Astro Blaster strapped to his belt. His eyes scanned the area, alert, and prepared for a possible attack...<p>

"I told you! Whether damaged, half power, or full power, we put ALL of our Cogs to use on this dig! No one is to be spared!"

Andros sighed in relief as he spotted the hideous form of General Venjix, pointing and shouting in his dull mechanical voice at Gerrok, a fellow general in his own right. Gerrok saluted Venjix. "Yes General Venjix, my apologies sir."

Venjix crossed his arms, causing a screeching sound of steel on steel. "We cannot afford any setbacks General Gerrok! We cannot forget the possibility of us being discovered here!" With that, the angry machine turned, and resumed his earlier duties.

"Hmmph," Andros heard Gerrok mutter. "Who could possibly discover us on a worthless moon such as this?"

Andros tiptoed behind a large boulder nearby, and resumed his recording, as if he hadn t seen enough of General Venjix these past three years to know what the evil robot looked like. After assisting the Galaxy Power Rangers in defeating the Psycho Rangers once and for all on Earth, Andros had taken it upon himself to seek out the final remnants of the dreaded Machine Empire. Along with his fellow Space Rangers, Andros had traveled to the planet Gerraria, a desolate, polluted world far beyond Earth s Solar System, which the Machine Empire had once called its headquarters, until the planet could no longer provide the natural resources they needed. Once there, the Rangers discovered General Venjix and his forces had regrouped on Gerraria upon hearing of their ruler King Mondo s destruction. The Rangers engaged the Machine Empire, but were no match for their combined forces. The team had been captured, and placed in a horrid, filthy, abandoned prison facility for nearly one months time, until Venjix and his forces fled the planet, leaving only Sergeant Steelon, and a squad of Cogs to guard the Rangers, and ensure of their demise.

The Space Rangers had easily been able to outsmart the mechanical minds of the Cogs, and escape from their cells. However, without their powers or weapons,  
>they were not nearly as formidable against the Machine Empire. In addition, they had gone without suitable nutrition for an extended period of time, which made them more vulnerable than ever. Yet, even with all the odds stacked against them, the five warriors still waged on against Steelon and his forces.<p>

Ashley had made Andros so proud that day. Even when her own body had turned against her, her cunning spirit refused to die. No one Andros had ever met could match her bravery. For this, and countless other reasons, he loved her with all his heart.

A tear dropped into the dust of the moon. That day, Ashley had found out how a true hero was rewarded: with pain, suffering, and agony.

After that day, Andros had taken his fellow Rangers back to Earth, and fled the planet, breaking up the team, leaving Ashley, T.J., Carlos, and Cassie to live their own lives. He could not bear to stay, and see Ashley suffer the repercussions of that battle .

Wiping his eyes, he shook the thought away, reminding himself of his mission. Ashley s pain, and the pain that Venjix and his forces had caused countless others, would soon be avenged.

Brushing a strand of dark brown hair away from his face, Andros focused the lens on a group of Cogs, who were just starting to uncover what appeared to be the facial area of a large mechanical dragon. He quickly snapped a few selectively placed shots, being careful of where he was positioned, as not to draw attention to himself or what he was doing. He then placed the camera back in the pocket of his robe, and refitted the micro-binoculars to his eyes just in time to see all five generals come into view.

Of the five generals, the first that Andros recognized was General Automon, colored red, orange, and a dull silver. When Dark Specter had attacked his home planet of KO-35 almost eight years ago, the evil master had summoned Automon to command a branch of the attacking army. With the Kerovan army and Silver Ranger Zhane at his side, Andros had used his Red Ranger powers to battle the evil General, with the fate of his home hanging in the balance. Though Andros and Automon had never crossed paths in the fight, Zhane had crossed swords with the evil general, and was able to incapacitate him temporarily. Unfortunately, Automon had survived, had remained a commanding force in the Machine Empire.

Across from Automon was General Tezzla, whose white and silver armor shined in the light of the stars, had gained fame as one of only three high officials in the Machine Empire to have female programming, the first two being Queen Machina and Archerina. In some circles, she was actually called "The Robitch". It was a codename that Andros certainly wouldn t argue with. Notorious for her screeching high voice, and constant stubbornness, Tezzla had gained King Mondo s approval by coming up with new horrific ways of torturing human prisoners. Upon winning a battle, she would gather up the remains of her opposing forces and exterminate them as painfully as possible. Though the butt of many machoist jokes in space bars, Tezzla would have been sure to turn their hardy laughs into screams of agony. Andros cringed at the thought.

Venjix s second in command was General Gerrok. Green and silver, with a pair of deadly pinchers atop his head, Gerrok had a reputation of being the universe s first "two faced machine".  
>The pincher headed robot was loathed among his peers for constantly playing underhanded political games among the ranks of the Machine Empire. Always in constant contact with King Mondo and General Venjix, Gerrok would put on a good face when in the presence of his superiors, and would always have many a flattering word. When their backs were turned however, Gerrok was a different machine entirely. Constantly boasting of his superior programming and incomparable fighting skills, he would often preach that one day he would control the Machine Empire, and correct the many mistakes made under Mondo s regime. Though as the Empire reformed following Mondo s demise, Gerrok had failed to practice his preaching. But one thing Andros could never deny was that Gerrok, though constantly venting hot air, was as dangerous as any warrior the Machine Empire had to offer.<p>

Then there was General Steelon. Andros teeth clenched, and his blood boiled as he looked upon the turquoise blue and silver form, of the former Sergeant, who had changed Ashley s life forever, as well as his ..

Finally, Andros fingers clenched the micro-binoculars a bit tighter as he stared down at the being responsible for all of this. The mechanical mastermind that he d been chasing for nearly three years, the diabolical General Venjix, wore cold steel silver, lined with pitch-black armor, a large red gem in the center of his torso. Two antennas sprouted from his domed head. Andros knew his form all too well, and even after all this time, it still sent chills up his spine. One could not go far in a conversation about the Machine Empire without at least hearing a reference to the dreaded General. Throughout his many years of service, no one had the attention of King Mondo s audio receptors that Venjix did. The only exception to this was Prince Gasket, whom Mondo would eventually appoint as his second in command. Though infuriated by his master s decision, Venjix continued to serve King Mondo as his primary attack strategist. Then, years later, when Prince Gasket eloped with Archerina, daughter of Mondo s sworn enemy King Aradon, he was banished from the Empire permanently, and Venjix was given the honor of serving as Mondo s second. Not only did Venjix prove to be a better leader and advisor than Gasket, but he was also personally responsible for a number of key victories that would ultimately lead to the Machine Empire becoming the dominant force that it was. Or at least had been, prior to King Mondo s destruction.

When Venjix discovered the news of King Mondo s demise, the robot swore vengeance on all that was virtuous in the universe, and vowed that the Machine Empire would one day return to dominance. The General would take it upon himself to assume full command of the remnants of the Empire, and began to rebuild King Mondo s great dynasty of evil.

As Andros looked down upon the five Generals standing before the cockpit of the mighty battle machine, he knew that the success or failure of Venjix s quest to return the Machine Empire to its reign of supremacy, would ultimately depend on the outcome of this mission.

The very fate of the universe hung between them

Staring through his micro-binoculars, Andros kept his focus on General Venjix. Though a fair distance away, he could just barely hear the deep motorized voice of the robot.

"Yes," he said. "We ve finally found it. Cogs! Keep digging! Zedd was a fool to leave this buried here! But his loss will be our gain .."

At Venjix s words, Andros saw that the Cogs began to dig at a much more rapid pace. He placed his binoculars down. Overall, the situation was far worse than he d foreseen. The Machine Empire would have their doomsday device dug up in a matter of hours. There wasn t much time.

Andros placed the binoculars back into his bag, and turned to leave. He had one chance. If he could somehow sneak inside the cockpit, perhaps dressed in a Cog s uniform, and find a way to disable the-

Even as he stumbled over the rocks at his feet, and the stones began to tumble down the rockslide, he cursed himself for being so foolish.

What s that?" he heard Gerrok shout. But Andros was already moving, his robe flapping with the increased velocity. "Steelon, lets go!"

Andros sucked in the icy cold atmosphere as he rushed to get away. The surface around him exploded and erupted as laser blasts destroyed the moon s rocky ground. He d been so stupid, making a rookie mistake at such a crucial point in the mission, and now he d be lucky to get out of here alive, much less get out of firing range to attempt to disable the weapon.

The sound of hoofs brushing and scraping against rock prompted Andros to go against his better judgment, and look back. Horses draped in the insignia of the Machine Empire carried Gerrok and Steelon behind him at an alarming pace. Laser blasts nipped at his heels as Steelon repeatedly shot at him.

There was no way, he knew, that he could outrun horses. And it would only be a matter of time before Venjix sent the Cogs. Andros had no desire to face the wrath of an entire army of mechanical misfits. That, accompanied by haunting memories of interrogation chambers, told him it was time to abort mission, and resort to the contingency plan.

Nearly tripping and falling as one of Steelon s laser blasts pierced his hair, Andros brought his Astro Morpher up to his lips. "Galaxy Glider! Hang ten!" Seconds later, a thin surfboard powered by a small jet thruster whizzed through the air, coming around for a pass in front of Andros.

Undoing his robe, and letting it slip off of him, all the while trying not to let fatigue slow him down, Andros reached for the keypad on his morpher. Daring to take his eyes off the path in front of him, he punched in 3-3-5. His body instantly became engulfed in a bright red light, electricity surging through his body. A split second later, the body of Andros was gone, replaced by a being clad in a bright red suit, with a red helmet masking his face. Through a black visor, he saw his Galaxy Glider soar through the air to intercept him.

Andros morphed into the Red Lightstar Ranger.

The Red Ranger dove into the air, doing a forward somersault that he prayed was timed correctly. He heard Gerrok cry out in fury as his white boots landed on the board, and the thrusters kicked in, sending the Power Ranger flying out into space. In a fit of rage, Gerrok and Steelon continued firing as the form of the intruder continued to get smaller, but to no avail.

As he left the moon behind, the Red Ranger looked back, taking one last glimpse at the Machine Empire, and the shredded moon surface. Under his helmet, Andros breathed a sigh of relief. So much for staying elusive .

As his Galaxy Glider made its way toward the opposite side of the moon, where he d left his ship, Andros mind raced. He d been foolish to think that he could stop the Machine Empire by himself, but was this contingency plan just as foolish? Did he have any chance of actually pulling it off? And even if he did, would it even be able to stop the sheer doom that the Machine Empire had planned for the universe?

As he rocketed into Earth s atmosphere, the Red Ranger knew there was only one way to find out.

It was time to make the call.

There were times when he simply loved to listen.

He would close his eyes, and let the endless array of stimuli carry his mind to wherever it would go. It relaxed him, it calmed his mind, and eased his senses. The world was a beautiful place, he of all people knew that. And what better way to enjoy the life he now lived, then to simply get lost in the endless wonders of God s world.  
>Today, here, now, at Bulkmeyers, he could hear the sound of children laughing and playing as they frolicked through the pool. Children always made him smile, so sweet, so innocent, and so pure. He had always hoped that what he d done had inspired at least one child to do something good, and decent with his or her life. It had been one thing to protect the present, but he knew the future was out of his hands. And he was okay with that. He did not fear what he couldn t control. He opened his eyes, and sat up in his beach chair. He loved these people, he trusted these people. And he knew that these people had trusted him. He would always be proud of the fact that through adversity, he had never let them down. The only concern he did have, was that he could have done more<p>

He smiled to himself. His thoughts would sometimes wander into the past, back to the days when he and the others would come to blows with monsters, pilot MegaZords, and still make it back in time to finish off that Anatomy project. He d sometimes look back and think that those were the best days of his life. But no, he knew better.  
>He knew that at his age, his best days were yet to come.<br>Yet even so, he wouldn t have traded it for anything. Being a Power Ranger, whether Green, White, or Red, had taught him more about life, love, friendship, and overcoming the obstacles than anything else in the world ever could have. And he would always look back upon those days with pride, and a smile on his face.  
>He slipped on his sunglasses, picked up that day s Angel Grove Courier, and as he brushed his hand through his spiked raven hair, sat back in his beach chair. But those days were over, and he had to remember that.<p>

"Excuse me sir," he recognized the voice of Farcus Bulkmeyer, owner of Bulkmeyer s. "You have a phone call." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A/N Here's Chapter Two of Forever Red hope you enjoy -

Carter turned up the stereo in the Rescue Rover as the open highway stretched out before him. His sandy colored hair blew in with the rush of the wind. He hadn t been this at ease in a long time. He realized the awkward irony of that, as this was one of the most important assignments he d ever been given. Nevertheless, quiet times like these were hard to come by. Between his duties with the Mariner Bay Fire Department, as well as his on and off responsibilities to Lightspeed Rescue, Carter rarely had time for himself anymore.

But today was a good day for reflection, Carter knew, especially after yesterday.

He reached over to the passenger s seat, and pulled on a pair of dark sunglasses. He let a deep exhale escape through his nostrils. The previous day had been a day filled with revisits to lost memories, and a childhood that Carter often longed to forget. It was like that every year, and would probably always be that way.

Yesterday had been his Father s birthday.

Or rather, it would have been his birthday. If Carter s math wasn t off, he would have been fifty-seven. He smiled at the thought of his Father at middle age. When Carter had known him, he had always been so energetic, and so full of life. If he were alive today, he would probably still be the same bright smiling, tight hugging, joke cracking man that Carter remembered, with the exception of a few gray hairs.

Carter clenched his teeth, and tightened his grip on the wheel as his mind recessed into a place he never enjoyed going. Although it would never truly leave him. The smoldering heat against his skin, the flames dancing all around him, the smell of smoke and burning plaster itching at his nostrils. He remembered how he screamed as he saw his room and all his toys melting away. His Mother had screamed too, pounding on his bedroom door, pleading for her son to still be alive

Carter and his Mother had survived the fire that night, thanks to the efforts of a heroic fireman. Yet despite the terrifying fire, it would be the words of another fireman speaking to Carter s Mother that continued to haunt him to this day.

"I m sorry Mrs. Grayson .but your husband .he didn t make it out."

A loud honk behind him jerked Carter back to the present. Looking down at the speedometer, he saw that he d let the Rescue Rover slow to twenty miles per hour. He quickly stepped on the pedal.

His Father s birthday had always been a day for Carter and his Mother to get out old photos, and laugh at old memories. She would always tell him how proud he would be of him, of his job as a fireman, and even more so, of his responsibilities as the Red Lightspeed Power Ranger. Of all the lives he d saved, all the sacrifices he d made to fight for what he believed in, and to defend what was right.

Carter smiled, he only hoped she was right. Under the guidance of Captain William Mitchell, the very man who had saved he and his mother all those years ago, Carter had been appointed the leader of the Lightspeed Rangers. But it had been the efforts of the entire team combined that had saved the world from Queen Bansheera and her minions.

Since that time, the city of Mariner Bay had been a much safer, quieter place then it had been during Bansheera s reign of terror. Carter had resumed his duties with the Mariner Bay Fire Department, while still attempting to contribute what he could to Lightspeed Rescue. He would occasionally be assigned a "specialty mission", which would require Carter and the others to re harness their powers, and protect the city once more. And while these assignments usually paled in comparison to what the team used to face on a day-to-day basis, Carter had to admit, he never got tired of feeling that rush of adrenaline, as the power surged through him like electricity through an outlet.

As the Rover bounced over a pothole, Carter knew that this was no specialty mission he was on. In fact, it hadn t even come from Lightspeed. Carter had received a phone call at his home just last night. He had never met the man on the other end before, but knew all to well who he was. Carter never thought that he d actually be speaking to him. That had only occurred in the occasional fantasy.

His voice had been soft and gentle, a comforting sound to hear, considering his legendary status. Yet he had sensed a rock hard core under the surface. Carter shuddered to think what he had sounded like to his foes. "You re presence is requested at the N.A.S.A.D.A. spaceport, just west of downtown Angel Grove." He had said, "Are you familiar with it?"

"Y-yes, yes I am." Carter had replied. He rolled his eyes as he remembered how nervous he must have sounded.

"Good, tomorrow then, at twelve noon sharp." Carter had started to say something, but he was cut off. "Also, there is something else I need you to do."

He checked his watch, almost nine o clock. To some, getting up at six o clock in the morning was next to impossible. To him, it was a daily routine. As a fireman, he had gotten used to early calls, as well as late calls. The thought that lives just like his Father s were on the line forced him to shake the cobwebs out of his head, and respond to the call of duty.

Yet even so, for a fireman, let alone a Red Ranger, getting up at six a.m. to pick up someone who didn t even know you were coming, seemed a bit indignant. Carter mentally shrugged the thought off, realizing that dignity wasn t always the most important thing. Besides, if the urgent tone in the caller s voice was any indication, this was too serious to think about personal pride.

He pressed his foot on the break as he twisted the wheel slightly to the right, and turned off into the highway exit. Glancing up to his right, Carter saw what looked to be a welcome sign. He chuckled to himself. What kind of a name was Turtle Cove for a city anyway?

* * *  
>"Look guys," Cole said. "I m really not interested."<p>

"Aw c mon man," Max coaxed, patting him on the chest. "It ll be awesome, you ll love it!"

"Yeah," Alyssa added. "Just try it this once. We promise you won t get addicted."

"Please guys," Cole pleaded with them. "Don t do this to me."

"Cole," Danny said. "You re being really stupid, okay? There s nothing wrong with it!"

"You ll thank us later!" Max said.

Cole broke away from his friends, trying one more time to reason with them. "Listen, I just don t think it s for me, okay?"

Max shook his head. "Dude, you re crazy!"

"Yeah," Taylor commented. She opened the box in her arms, and set it on the table. "I mean, they re just donuts."

Cole turned away, crossing his heavily muscled arms, as Max s eyes lit up. His friends, and fellow Power Rangers seemed to attack the box. But Cole knew he was the smarter of the bunch. Since arriving into civilization from the deep jungles of the Amazon, he had promised himself that he would not allow the temptations of modern society to rob him of the values that the amazons had instilled within him.

Still, those donuts did look good .

"Mmm, I ve got the urge to splurge!" said Max, the youngest of the group. His dark skinned hands were already blemished with frosting. Somewhere along the line, he d let some of it get into his short, curly black hair. Cole repressed a smile. Though not to be taken lightly, Max did have a tendency to do things that were .well .cute.

Though he would have expected much more from Danny, whose body was arguably more muscled than Cole s. Of the same ethnicity as Max, with gentle eyes behind the round frames of his glasses, Danny never let being the biggest member of the team go to his head. For that, Cole respected him greatly.

Next to Danny, dwarfed by his sheer height and mass, was Alyssa. In many ways, Cole considered her to be the heart of the team. She was as sweet as the donuts she was eating,  
>and possessed a heart of pure gold. Cole had come to love her as a sister. But what Alyssa had in innocence and kindness, Taylor had in strength and determination. Though her blonde locks were beautiful and enticing, the fiery intensity in her eyes let any enemy know that the former Air Force pilot was not to be taken lightly.<p>

And then there was himself, Cole, the Red Wild Force Power Ranger. Cole was a man who believed in destiny. Growing up as an orphan in the amazons, the natives had always told Cole that his fate would ultimately lie in the hands of the gods. It was a theory that to this day, Cole still believed. He often wondered about his own destiny. He hoped it had been fate that had brought him here, to Turtle Cove. With the help of his new friends and fellow Rangers, Cole had discovered that his Mother and Father had allegedly been killed not long after his birth. But upon this discovery, Alyssa had offered him an intriguing thought. Cole was alive, regardless of who or what had tried to murder his Mother and Father. If he had survived the attack, then perhaps they had too.

Perhaps they, like him, were searching for a lost piece of their hearts ..

Though the sleepless nights did continue even after Cole s emergence into civilization, he could take comfort in one thing. The Red Lion Orb, a small red gem which the natives found alongside him, was now being put to it s proper use. Using the Orb, Cole had been able to harness the powers of the Red Lion Power Ranger. Though it wasn t what he had set out to accomplish, Cole found that saving the lives of innocents brought upon a feeling of self gratification like no other. It was a feeling that helped eased the pain and frustration, and the burning question of if, and when.

Cole smiled as his friends gobbled up the remains of the donuts. He just hoped, that wherever his parents were, that he had made them proud.

"Aw man," Max said, licking his fingers. "That s a meal right there."

Taylor smiled at him. "I ve got to hand it to you Cole, you ve got will power."

Cole grinned back at her. "That s what nineteen years living off fruit and flame cooked meat will do for you." Cole s friends laughed, a sound he never tired of hearing. He reached under the picnic table they sat at, and retrieved a Basketball. "So, you guys ready to teach me how to play yet?"

Now Cole was laughing. He d never seen four people grow nauseous simultaneously before.

"Excuse me, Cole Evans?"

At the sound of a strange voice, Cole turned to see a young man, presumably only a few years older than him. He wore a red and black jacket, with the words "Lightspeed Rescue" printed across the sleeve. His expression was cold, and all business. His sky blue eyes looked Cole over, as they sat perched above a freckled nose. The sun seemed to change his sandy colored hair to a shiny gold.

Though he d never met this man before, Cole had learned to never resist meeting a new person. He started to extend his hand, smiling.

"Cole Evans, Red Wild Force Ranger?"

Cole s smile vanished, replaced by a defensive, yet curious frown.

"How do you know who I am?" Cole asked, trying not so sound too defensive. Who was this strange man? And how had he come to know Cole s most heavily guarded secret?

"I m Carter Grayson, Lightspeed Rescue." He replied. He then held up his right wrist, showing Cole the device strapped to it. The markings matched those on his jacket. "Red Ranger."

Cole s eyes widened. It was a morpher!

"I ve been sent to recruit you for a very important mission. The fate of the entire Earth is at stake. We need your help."

"Mission?" Cole asked, puzzled. "What kind of a mission?"

"Who cares?" Max blurted out. "You guys heard the man! The fate of the Earth is at stake!" He pointed to a bright yellow humvee parked on the curb, which Cole hadn t noticed until that moment. "Those your wheels?"

Carter nodded.

"Okay then, let s go!" Max started for the humvee, but Carter placed his fingertips on the younger man s chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Sorry," he said. "But only Cole s presence is requested for this mission."

The Rangers all frowned in confusion. Cole looked at his teammates. He d never fought alongside anyone else before, let alone on something as important as this. Or at least, as important as Carter was making it sound.

"Mr. Evans," Carter said. "I m sorry to rush you, but unfortunately, time is a luxury we don t have. I m going to have to ask that you come with me."

Cole s mind raced. He had no reason to trust this stranger, despite the fact that his claims seemed genuine. Though the fact that he knew his identity made him extremely uneasy. Aside from his teammates, and mentor Princess Shayla, only one individual knew of his status as the Red Ranger. That was the sinister Master Org, but he was gone now...  
>defeated by Cole and the others.<p>

Could Carter be some sort of Org leading Cole into a trap?

But then again, he d said the fate of the entire Earth was at stake as well. Was the fate of the planet he d sworn to protect worth the gamble? In his heart, Cole knew the answer, even as he asked the question. He nodded. "Okay."

The left side of Carter s mouth curled into a half smile. "Good, let s go then." He turned and started for his vehicle. Cole followed, turning to give a quick wave to his friends, whose eyes told him to be careful.

He stepped into the humvee, and pulled the door shut. "Your partners seem very nice." Carter commented.

Cole smiled. "Yeah, just be careful when they have donuts."  
> <p>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A/N Another installment of Forever Red. I own everything(Insert evil green ranger laugh) but no seriously Power Rangers and all related items are owned by Saban Entertainment -

Their vehicle was entirely black, like a night sky filled with clouds. The only exception was the pair of bright red sirens perched atop its roof. But that was just the way they liked it. There was nothing fancy about them, or what they did. That was how they did business, it was how they lived their lives.

Or at least, it was how they were supposed to live their lives. For Wes Collins, life wasn t all about business. He often wished his partners in the Silver Guardians would see it that way. Though unfortunately, Silver Hills own defense and protection agency was primarily made up of charisma impaired, combat obsessed, overly competitive laser brains.

The prevalent one was sitting at the wheel next to him.

"Is this it?" Eric Myers asked in his usual rough, no nonsense tone.

"Yep, looks like it." Replied Wes. That s the N.A.S.A.D.A. logo on that sign isn't it?"

Eric nodded. "This should be interesting."

Eric wasn t so bad though, at least not as bad as he d used to be. But he d had his own personal reasons for being the way he was back when Wes had first met him. When they had trained together in prep school, he d always had something to prove .to someone. To himself? To society? To his peers? Even today, Wes didn t know for sure. Eric wasn t one to talk about his personal life, even after Wes had gotten to know him.

When Wes had worked with a group of time travelers from the year 3000 as the Red Time Force Power Ranger, and Eric had obtained the powers of the Quantum Ranger, he d been as stubborn and uncooperative as anyone Wes had ever met. It turned out that Eric had always held a grudge against Wes for being born rich (his father was the owner of the Silver Guardians), as opposed to him, who d grown up dirt poor . Even when Wes offered him friendship, Eric would turn away.

Though the day would come when that all changed. The evil Ransik and his minions took advantage of a series of time holes opening in the sky, sucking various portions of the city into eternal blackness. For their own safety, Wes had forced his fellow Time Force Rangers to return to the year 3000. Thus, he and Eric were the city s only hope.

Bitter, angry, and stubborn, Eric refused to work with Wes. However, when the wounds of battle became too overbearing, Wes forced him to retreat, and tended to his wounds. In return, Eric would later leap in front of a laser blast meant for Wes father, a move that Wes suspected even surprised Eric himself.

Following Ransik s defeat, Wes Father offered him a leadership position in the Silver Guardians. Wes agreed, but with one condition: Eric would be his partner. From that day on, the two Rangers began to develop a friendship based on trust, and mutual respect. Though he could sometimes be a cold, rude, and even downright obstinate, Wes was glad to finally have Eric s friendship.

He hoped that deep down, that Eric felt the same way.

The car pulled up to a windowed booth, with the path ahead blocked by a steel bar. Inside the booth was a short, balding man with glasses, wearing a security guard s uniform. Wes handed him a business card from the dashboard.

At first, the guard looked puzzled, but then nodded in recognition of the Silver Guardians insignia. "Wes Collins and Eric Myers?"

Wes nodded.

The guard pressed a small red button on the wall of the booth, raising the bar in front of the vehicle. "You re expected, docking bay 7."

Eric pulled into the empty docking bay, which appeared to be suited for smaller aircraft. Though half of it remained blocked off by a steel door. Eric put the car in park, and the Silver Guardians stepped out.

"Hello?" Wes shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Eric glared at him. "It s empty, wise guy." He leaned against the car. "Let s hope this isn t some sick prank."

Wes rested against the hood. "Didn t sound like a prank, if that guy on the phone was who he said he was."

His partner shook his head. "I don t like this."

Wes grinned. "Easy there partner. Don t go breakin out the Q-Rex just yet."

Eric cracked a half smile. Wes loved to poke fun at him for his love of the Quantasauras Rex, his own uncanny Zord with amazing combat abilities. He was like a Mother caring for her baby. In an odd way, it was cute. "If you had a Q-Rex, you d break it out as often as you could."

"You think it could be taken our MegaZord?"

"Please, try five MegaZords."  
>Wes laughed. "Now that I d like to see."<p>

"Is that a challenge?"

Wes raised his hands in surrender. "Oh no, I d never challenge the mighty Quantasauras Rex!"

A cocky grin spread across Eric s face.

"But what about that Yellow Wild Force Ranger? Could she?"

Eric s jaw dropped. "I aught to deck you, you little "

Wes laughed. "You d probably let her wipe the streets with the Q-Rex!"

"I swear, I ll fry you Collins " Eric s hand dropped to his holstered Quantum Defender gun.

Wes clasped his hands together, and got a dreamy look in his eyes. "Awwww, ouw wittew Ewic s in woooooove!"

"You re dead Daddy s boy!"

Eric took off after his partner, but Wes was already on the move. "Hey Eric," he called back to him, "You could be her wild man!"

Suddenly, a laser blast near Wes feet sent him tumbling to the ground. He looked up to see Eric standing over him, Quantum Defender in hand. "I told you I d fry you."

Wes held out his hand so he could pull him up. "Not me dead eye, just my boots." Eric looked down to see that Wes boots were indeed smoking.

But that was just Eric s was of playing, and Wes recognized that. Though he wished he could find a way of playing that was a little less dangerous.

Just then, the Silver Guardians snapped to attention as a shiny red sports car screeched to a hault not five yards from their vehicle .

His was called Venjix. He d never known another name.

He d seen the fear in the eyes of the humans when his name was spoken, and he loved it. He loved to watch the pathetic vermin called mankind squirm under his gaze and plea to be spared. Venjix loathed humanity, or anything living for that matter. Living beings were imperfect, they made mistakes, they had flaws.

Machines however, had no such disadvantages. Every cyborg, every robot, every android, every technological device ever assembled, was perfect in every way. If it wasn t, it was tossed aside as garbage.

That was how the universe worked. If you were no longer sufficient, or fit to do your job, your time was up. Whoever was behind you in the proverbial food chain would chew you up, and spit you into the dirt. Venjix knew that humanity had existed for one purpose, to create their own successors, machines. And it was long past due for machines to spit humanity into the dirt. General Venjix stood upon the surface of Earth s only moon, clenching his mechanical first. But the day of reckoning was coming. The Cogs had now completed the excavation process. The ultimate weapon, abandoned years ago by the foolish Lord Zedd, was now in the hands of the Machine Empire. Soon, Venjix would use its unparalleled power to obliterate the worthless existence of humans.

But that would only be the beginning. One by one, Venjix would use the ultimate weapon to travel from planet to planet, and enslave the universe one world at a time, until the soul purpose of the living was to serve the mechanical, as servants to the mighty Machine Empire.  
>Venjix s sensory modulators picked up rubble crushing under Gerrok s boots before he even spoke. "General Venjix, it is finished sir, and awaiting your approval."<p>

The evil general nodded, and gave a wave of dismissal to Gerrok. A moment later, he started for their temporary moon base.

When Venjix had assumed command of the Machine Empire, he had ordered the remaining sculpture androids, as well as a fracture of the architectural ones to begin work on a tribute to the one who had once been the high emperor of this tyrannical force. The one who had taught him everything he knew, and made him everything he was today, the one whom Venjix would dedicate his victory in memory of.

He stepped inside the moon base, and marveled at the Empire s newest creation. The statue stood precisely fifteen feet high, and was painted gold in its entirety. Molded in the form of a rotund robot, with a body made to look as if it were wearing a robe. Its face was sculpted to look fierce, intimidating, and above all else, evil. An oversized crown sat atop its head.

General Venjix got down on one steel knee, and bowed his antennae head.

"In your honor, oh mighty King Mondo, the Machine Empire will annihilate the living once and for all!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A/N I own nothing. Enjoy and review reviews are like fan mail an make me smile :D -

He watched the yellow humvee pull into the docking bay of the N.A.S.A.D.A. spaceport from a distance. They were almost all here now, and soon the time would come.

He adjusted his brown leather jacket, his red button up shirt fitting snuggly over his red t shirt, and waited. He d had many a doubt about this mission since he d gotten the call at Bulkmeyers. He hadn t lived this life in so long. He d thought this was all behind him.

And yet, here he was, back again, about to ask a group of Earth s bravest heroes to risk their lives against a force they knew nothing of.

He only wished Jason was here. He hadn t been able to get ahold of his old teammate on the phone, and had left a message on his machine. He only hoped Jason had gotten the message, and was on his way.

He took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car, making his way toward docking bay seven.

This was it ..

"Wes! Eric!" Cole exclaimed, slapping hands with his old acquaintances. They had worked together to stop Master Org and the MutOrgs from terrorizing Turtle Cove.

"Cole, it s good to see you again." Wes replied smiling.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

"Well," Eric said. "We got a call, to meet here at the N.A.S.A.D.A. Spaceport."

Cole nodded. "Do you guys know what this is about?" Both men shook their heads in response.

Carter stepped out of the Rescue Rover. "I see you ve met the Silver Guardians." He said, nodding to both men. Carter and the Lightspeed Rangers had once worked with the Time Force Rangers to defeat the resurrected demon Vypra.

Carter noticed the red sports car parked five yards away.

"Don t ask us Carter." Wes said. "It s been sitting there for about five minutes now."

He smiled. "Don t worry, it s just the Red Turbo Ranger."

With that, the driver s side door of the vehicle opened, and out stepped a tall, muscular African American man with a shaved head, and friendly eyes. He wore a red short-sleeved shirt and black jeans. He flashed a winning smile to the group.

Carter instantly recognized him from the dossiers in Lightspeed s databanks. "Theodore J Jarvis Johnson."

He shook hands everyone. "Please, just call me T.J."

The group s attention was suddenly diverted by the sound of footsteps. Approaching them was a young man with dark brown hair, lined with golden highlights. He wore a red shirt under and open silver uniformed jacket, with matching silver pants.

"Ah, that would be Andros." T.J. said, recognizing the man he d once worked with as the Blue Lightstar Ranger...until a tragedy had separated them.

Andros came to a hault in front of T.J.. Both men had known that this would happen, that they would once again cross paths. Neither had known what they would say, or what they would do once they saw the other.

Then, T.J. held out his hand. "Hey old buddy."

A few tense seconds passed, as Andros pondered his old teammate s gesture...

Finally, he accepted it. He remained silent, until finally turning to address the group. "Thank you gentlemen for joining us. I know you ve all traveled far to get here today, and I am very grateful for your presence in this time of dire need."

Cole was in a state of disbelief. "You guys are all Red Ranges too? That s unbelievable! So what s going on here anyway?"

"You ve been summoned by myself, as well as a veteran Ranger, our leader for this mission." Andros replied.

A skeptical Eric frowned. "Wait, did you say leader?" Wes placed a warning hand on his friend s arm.

Suddenly, a man emerged in the entranceway, is face lost in the light of the afternoon sun. His hands crossed in front of him, he wore a brown leather jacket, and a red t-shirt over a red button up shirt. His raven hair was spiked up. He walked slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the bay.

T.J. smiled, recognizing the man who had chosen him to be the Red Turbo Ranger.

Andros waited silently for his partner, the man he d been working with for the past two and a half years.

Carter s jaw dropped in awe. He couldn t believe it, it was really him. The man he d emulated for so long as a Power Ranger.

Wes looked at Eric. "What was that you said about a leader?"

Cole tapped T.J. on the shoulder. "Who s that?"

T.J. patted the younger man on the shoulder. "That my friend, is Tommy Oliver. The guy s a legend in his own time.

For a moment, Tommy simply stood, as the others seemed to stare in awe. His dark eyes were serious, showing determination and strength. Yet they were also calm, and in a sense, soothing to look into. They were the eyes of a man callused by years of battle. His face showed no signs of aging, as he was still young. His form looked to be heavily muscled, yet his posture told them that he was not a man to boast his physique.

Yes, they d all heard of the legendary Tommy Oliver, a former Green, White, and twice Red Power Ranger. In what he d done for the world, this man had set the standard for what it meant to be a Power Ranger, to serve mankind, and fight for the everlasting cause of virtue.

And now he stood before them.

Tommy took a deep breath through his nose, and began. "Thank you gentlemen for coming on such short notice. I wish I could be meeting you under more pleasant circumstances."

"So what s going on?" Wes asked, repeating the question on his mind, as well as the others. "Your call sounded urgent."

He sighed. "I was hoping this day would never come." He gestured toward his partner. "Andros has recently tracked down the remains of the evil Machine Empire, an army of mechanical monsters, bent on conquering the universe."

Carter s eyes widened. "But I thought you and the Zeo Rangers defeated them years ago!"

"And what was left," Wes continued. "Wasn t it destroyed after the invasion of Earth a few years back?"

Tommy nodded. "Yes, their leader King Mondo, as well as the rest of the royal family, perished on the planet Triforia in that same battle. But evidently some of their generals managed to survive.

"They ve been hiding out all these years, presumably in the darkest corners of the universe. But now, it seems they ve finally regrouped their forces, and at this very moment, are amassing on the moon, resurrecting a forgotten yet uncanny force of destruction. The evidence gathered by Andros suggests that they are preparing to invade the Earth, possibly within the next 48 hours.

"You have all been gathered here because each of you have led your respective teams to victory over the forces of evil in the past. You are here because you are the best at what you do. Andros and I cannot face the Machine Empire alone. But we ve gathered you here hope that we can persuade you to join us in our mission to the moon, to stop them once and for all. Together, we can save the Earth, and take one step closer to bringing peace and prosperity to the universe."

Tommy bowed his head, staring at the ground for a moment. "But of course, as always, there is a danger to what we do. I cannot guarantee that we will succeed, or that we will even return to Earth alive. I can t force any of you to come."

He looked up again. "I can only humbly ask that you help us. From one Ranger, to another ."

The group was once again silent, each man comprehending the words of this legendary figure.

Finally, Cole stepped forward. "Listen, I don t know much about space, the moon, or this Machine Empire ."

Tommy nodded, realizing what Cole was about to say.

" .But I will go wherever I must to protect the Earth."

The veteran Ranger smiled in surprise. He hadn t expected the young man to agree.

Wes looked at Eric, who gave him an affirmative nod. "The same goes for us." He said.

"Count me in." Carter added.

"It s not even a question." T.J. said, rounding out the team.

Tommy looked at Andros, who smiled. Neither man could believe what they were hearing. These five men, all but T.J. having never met Tommy and Andros, had agreed to place their very lives on the line, for the fate of the Earth.

Tommy smiled. Of course, he remembered, that s what being a Power Ranger is all about. "My friends, I am in awe of your bravery and generosity. You are all true Power Rangers."

"But wait " Cole said, stepping forward. "How are we supposed to get to the moon to stop them?"

Andros reached into his back pocket, and removed a small remote with a red button in its center. "In this." Pointing it at the enormous steel garage door behind the group, and pressed the button. The door instantly began to rise, revealing a gigantic spaceship. Circular in it s body, with the exception of its massive nose, which faced the seven men. The ship was mostly blue and silver, except for a set of red fins on its rear side. An entrance ramp protruded from the ships base, welcoming the Rangers inside. As the bay s overhead lights flickered to life, the ship glistened in all its glory.

Flabbergasted by this all too familiar site, T.J. looked to Andros. "My god .is that?"

Andros nodded, and approached the helm of the ship, facing the Rangers. "I present the Astro Megaship Mark II, almost an exact replica of the original Astro Megaship. Fresh off the shipyards of KO-35, the fastest spaceship in the galaxy."

Tommy looked to the group. "Okay guys," he said. "Lets do this." With those words, the seven men started for the entrance ramp.

"Wait," Andros said abruptly, brought the group to a hault. "Wasn t there another Red Ranger here on Earth?"

Tommy stopped in his tracks and sighed, realizing that his old friend had let him down. He turned to face his partner. "I was hoping he d show up, but I guess he couldn t make it. We ll have to go on without him."

Andros nodded, unable to ignore the dissapointment in his friend s eyes.

As the Rangers, continued up the ramp, and into the Megaship, Cole suddenly stopped, bumping into Eric.

"Hey!" Eric cried. "What s the big idea?"

Cole placed his index and middle fingers to his ear. "Do you guys hear that?" All eight men were silent, listening to the sound of the wind blowing outside.

Through the wind, the dull hum of an engine was just barely audible.

Tommy s lips curled into a small grin.

The seven men moved quickly outside the bay, shielding their eyes from the sun, glancing down the horizon as the humming sound grew louder. In the distance, was a man clad entirely in black, riding a motorcycle. His face was masked by the dark helmet he wore. His vehicle grew closer by the second .

Andros nudged Tommy. "Who s this?"

Tommy looked at his partner. "I think I have an idea."

Finally, the bike came to a stop in front of the seven men. The stranger placed the kickstand down, and pulled his leg over the vehicle. His helmet turned from left to right, as he seemed to look over the group standing before him. Then, his hands moved up toward his helmet.

Tommy smiled in recognition of his old friend and teammate. His short black hair, and boyish eyes were unmistakable. And he still hand that chubby cheeked grin that Tommy remembered.

"Jason ." he whispered to himself.

Jason eyed his old friend, and reflected the smile back at him. "You guys weren t gonna do this without me were you?"

Tommy chuckled. "Rangers, this is Jason Lee Scott. Years ago, he was the first man to ever morph into a Red Ranger on Earth.."

Taking his eyes from Tommy, Jason made his way over to the other side of the line, looking over each Ranger one by one. He noticed the young man in the headband seemed to stand unusually straight, obviously nervous.

Jason approached him. "So you must be the new guy." he said with a nod.

Cole quickly wiped his hand across the leg of his jeans before holding it out to the veteran Ranger. "Hi sir, I m Cole."

He smiled and patted him on the arm. "Good."

As Cole checked to make sure there was nothing wrong with his hand, Jason started to walk down the line, once again eyeing each Ranger. "I recognize some of you guys." he said. Finally, he reached Wes, and couldn t help but grin. "Some more than others."

Wes shook his head in disbelief. "I can t believe it." he said in awe. "Is it really you?"

Jason patted himself on the torso. "I hope so."

Wes laughed, still in a state of disbelief. It had been just over a year ago that he and the Time Force Rangers had traveled back to the year 1994, and helped Jason and the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers battle both Ransik, and Rita Repulsa. "You look great Jason."

He smiled, and slapped hands with Wes. "Right response." he said with a wink. Then, he looked to the next man in line. "Eric."

The Quantum Ranger nodded back. "Hello Jason."

"How s the Q-Rex doing?"

"Very well thank you."

"Good to hear."

Jason then looked to Tommy. For a moment, the two men just stood there. There had once been a time when they had been partners, best friends, brothers. Each man had risked his life for the other, whether it had been Jason going into Rita Repulsa s dark dimension to save Tommy s Green Ranger powers, or Tommy choosing Jason to be the Gold Zeo Ranger. The two men had formed a bond tighter than any other they d ever known, based upon trust, respect, friendship, even love.

Tommy shook his head, still smiling. "I was starting to wonder whether you d show up at all."

Jason chuckled. "You didn t think I was gonna let you do this without the original Red Ranger did you?"

The two men slapped hands, and then shared a hug.

"Alright then," Andros said. "Lets go."

Then, together, the eight Power Rangers made their way toward the Astro Megaship Mark II, preparing to embark on what might be the journey of a lifetime .

or their final downfall. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

A/N This time on Power Ranger I still own nothing...dammit -

"Alpha 7," Andros called, bringing the short Alpha android shuffling toward the pilot s console. "I m setting the ship on autopilot. We ve got a course set for the moon. We ll be settling in a quadrant just outside it s atmosphere, so that we can avoid detection. There s no doubt Venjix has set up sensors of every kind to avoid interference."

The android nodded. "Very well then Andros. And please, just call me Alpha."

Andros almost smiled. It was difficult to simply call the robot Alpha , as he d once called another android that name. "Sorry Alpha.

The robot nodded its domed head, and then turned for the bridge exit. "Now, let s see if those maintenance bots have tidied up the eatery yet. La de dee de dee ."

Andros shook his head, a bit bewildered by a robot that hummed.

He stepped down from the pilot s console, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet aboard his brand new ship. The Astro Megaship Mark II still had that metallic "fresh off the yards" smell, as was common for a craft on its maiden voyage. Though Andros imagined it would be gone by the time it returned to KO-35.

If it returned to KO-35 .

"D.E.C.A.," he said aloud to the ship s computer, which was linked to an voice-activated intercom. "Status report."

The female programmed voice responded instantly. "The rear port stabilizer is still holding. All other systems are currently operational."

Andros sighed. That stabilizer had suddenly gone from green to orange on the trip from the moon to the spaceport. It wasn t often that the technicians back home installed faulty stabilizers, or faulty anything for that matter. He d already made a mental note to speak to someone about it the next chance he got.

"D.E.C.A.,"

Andros jumped at the sound of a new, yet familiar voice in the room. "Continue monitoring progression of both rear stabilizers, and continue with hourly updates."

It was him.

"You re not losing your touch, are you Captain Kirk?"

"I was going to do that in a minute." Andros replied turning away from the visitor, pretending to fidget with one of the monitors.

T.J. shook his head. "You know, you can pass off some of these jobs to me if you want. No reason you should have to hold the entire ship together by yourself when you ve got an experienced shipmate on board."

For a moment, Andros mind clicked back to the days when T.J. had been the Blue Lightstar Ranger, and his unofficial second in command on the original Astro Megaship. They d had so many great times together, traveling the universe, fighting as a team along with Zhane, Carlos, Cassie ..

and Ashley.

"Don t worry about it. I m fine."

T.J. frowned, surprised. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes, I ve got an Alpha android helping me. You should just relax before we get there."

T.J. sat down in the Captains seat, as Andros continued to avoid eye contact with him. "So .how ve you been old buddy? It s been a long time."

"Yeah .I guess it has."

The other man smiled. "You know, it wouldn t have killed you to swing by home once and awhile. We ve missed you."

Andros brown eyes glanced over to his old friend. I go back to KO-35 everyonce and awhile."

T.J. rolled his eyes "You know that s not what I mean.

Oh.

"Andros, listen-"

"So...how are things on Earth?" he interrupted. It wasn t as much a question, as an attempt to change the subject.

Although, deep down, part of him was curious...

T.J. sighed, trying not to let his frustration show. "They re good. Carlos is hoping to get a spot in the pros. You should see him on that soccer field, he s incredible."

That s good."

"Cassie s trying to strike up a deal with an agent, you know, get her singing career off the ground."

He still wouldn t look T.J. in the face. A series of long, strenuous seconds passed.

"Oh, T.J. dinally said. And Ashley s doing good too. She s in law school right now. You know, she never mentioned anything about being a lawyer, but now that she s in that school, she ll argue with you about anything."

Andros blood bubbled. He d been afraid of this...

She...she still talks about you sometimes. he continued. Something in his voice suggested it wasn t easy for him either. She goes on the occasional date, but hasn t really had a serious man in her life since...well, you know.

Leaning against the wall, pretending to fidget with one of the panels, Andros teeth began to grind.

Leaning back in the Captain s seat, T.J. crossed his arms nonchalantly. The four of us have started talking a lot more. Whenver Ashley gets back from one of those dates, she always tells us about them. But somehow, it always comes back to you.

He struggled to fight back the tears itching at the back of his eyes.

Why that is I don t know. I guess she just never really forgot about you.

Why are you doing this?

What?

Andros turned his bloodshot eyes back at T.J.. I said, why are you doing this?

T.J. stood up in his seat, and leaned against the console. Because it s something that needs to be discussed. Not just with me, but with everybody.

The Kerovan exhaled, the air hissing between his teeth. You should mind your own buisness T.J..

Do you ever miss her?

The muscles in his face tightened. I said, mind-

"Andros, he interrupted. It s nothing to be ashamed of. We all could see how much you loved her."

With that, the Kerovan burst away from the wall, and made his way for the viewport, still not looking at T.J.. For a moment, he let the statement hang...

"What has that got to do with anything?"

T.J. shrugged "It s just a simple question. Do you, or don t you?"

Staring out into the blackness of space, Andros hands clenched around the edges of the window. He could feel the it burning in the pit of his belly. Slowley but surely, his emotional shell was cracking. He could feel it like a blade pushing itself through his sturnum...

Finally, he turned to look at his friend. "Every day."

As tears began to stream down Andros face, T.J. touched him on the shoulder. "Hey," he said, trying to act surprised. "What s wrong buddy?"

He jerked his shoulder away from T.J. s hand. "Don t act like you don t know."

T.J. leaned against the Captain s console. He d paved him into a corner now. "She still loves you Andros."

Andros rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "Please .don t say that."

"After this is all over, you should stay on Earth with us, at least for awhile. She s ..not the same anymore."

Finally, Andros snapped. He let one of his fists fly into one of the control panels lining the wall shooting sparks through the air. "Of course she s not the same anymore!" he screamed. "Do you think I forgot?"

T.J. held up his hands, trying to calm his friend down. "Whoa whoa, just take it easy! I didn t mean to-"

"What does it matter now?" Andros interrupted, leaning against the panel he d just destroyed. It s over and done with! You ve all moved on. I ve moved on."

"Do you really believe that?"

The Kerovan crossed his arms, saying nothing.

"I don t understand Andros. She doesn t understand. I don t think any of us have ever made sense of it all. Believe me, if we could understand why you left, it would be a lot easier on us. But what s even harder to comprehend, is why you can t just come back? Why can t you forgive yourself? It s not like she ever blamed you."

He shook his head, turning away to look back out the viewport. "You can t understand T.J., and be grateful that you can t understand. You don t want to know what it s like to live every day of your life, knowing that you took everything away from the one you love. You can t understand the burden, the weight I carry on my back everyday.

There are days when I can t even lift myself out of bed in the morning. Days when I can t look at myself in the mirror, and see myself alive, and in the state I m in.

He stared out into the starry abyss. But this is my life...this is the choice I ve made...

Andros head sunk, as he realized he was travelling back to Gerraria, almost four years ago. He closed his tear soaked eyes, as he began to see it all ..

His battle with Sergeant Steelon ..

His Spiral Saber crossing with Steelon s gigantic steel hammer, feeling the weight of the weapon twist his wrist back.

He saw the saber fly from his hand .

He felt the sick thud of the hammer crashing into his stomach, the air rushing out of him. His body curling into a ball on the ground as Steelon raised the hammer into the air.

Suddenly, the Yellow Lightstar Ranger shouted his name. She flew through the air, kicking the evil Sergeant s body to the ground.

"Ashley, no!"

He saw her weapons fly from her hands.

Oddly enough, she hadn t screamed as the hammer smashed across her face, sending fractured pieces of her helmet flying through the air.

"Nooooo!" he d shouted, as her morphing powers failed. There d been tears in his eyes then too.

Then he heard it. That sick, blood freezing sound of the hammer coming down on Ashley s back. That sick snapping sound .

And then, the sound that he d heard every day since then. The sound that haunted him like a vengeful ghost. That scream, that horrid scream. He d never heard anyone scream like that before, not even when his home had been invaded. He d never heard a single scream say so many things at once.

"Andros, help me!"

"Andros do something!"

"Andros how could you do this to me?"

And then, the worst one of them all: "Andros! I love you!"

He stared out into the blackness of space. It was empty, like the void in his heart. Ashley Hammond, the love of his life, was in a wheelchair. And it was all his fault .

He whirled around to face T.J.. "Don t you understand? It s my fault! It s my fault her legs are gone! My fault she suffers like she does! My fault she ll never-"

Suddenly, T.J. grabbed Andros by the shoulders and shoved him up against the wall.

"Ashley WILL walk again. Don t you ever say anything like that in front of me again. Do you understand?"

Andros stared into T.J. s eyes. They left no room for doubt. It wasn t wishful thinking, he was stating a fact. Or at least, the facts as he saw them.

He let out a shaky exhale. "Does she still .does she still have to go to ..therapy?"

T.J. relaxed his arms, letting Andros go. Yes.

Free of his friend s grip, he let his body sink down to a sitting position on the floor. He knew that seeing T.J. would make the pain worse. He d planned to form a protective shell around himself, a callus to prevent the memories from coming back. But now, that shell had been shattered. He hadn t planned to expose himself to his old teammate like this.

And yet, it was happening, here and now.  
>But do you understand?" he asked, looking up at him. "Do you understand why I can t go back? I can t bare to look at her, and see her in that chair. Could you T.J.? Could you go back and face someone you yourself crippled? Especially someone you d come to love and care for with every fiber in your body?"<p>

T.J. let out a slow exhale. "You re right Andros, I guess I can t understand."

Andros wiped a tear with his sleeve, and dropped his head down across his forearms.

"But there is one thing I do understand. She is suffering Andros. But it s not because of the damn wheelchair."

He lifted his head up.

"It s because the man she loves is lightyears away from her. She has to live every day not knowing if she ll ever see you again. And I guarantee you that hurts her a hell of a lot more than her back does.

I m not kidding when I say Ashley will walk again someday. When she s in therapy, you can see the fire in her eyes. It s that same fire that fueled her when she was a Power Ranger. The same fire that made her attack Steelon that day. And when you see that look in someone s eyes, it doesn t matter what stands in front of them. Because it always wins Andros. The fire consumes everything in it s path."

Andros opened his mouth to say something-

"But, she s not going to wait for you forever. Do you know how many guys there are out there who would love to be in your position?" He pointed to the viewport, in the direction of Earth. "There s a beautiful, smart, kind, intelligent young woman on that planet, who loves you, and misses you every day of her life, just like you miss her. But a person can only suffer for so long. And after four years, she s starting to lose faith in you Andros. She s beginning to lose faith that you ll ever come back for her."

He stared down at the Kerovan. "She doesn t deserve that Andros.

T.J. turned away from Andros, and started for the door. Stopping in the doorway, he turned to look at his old partner one more time.

"And neither do you.

As T.J. s footsteps echoed down the halls, Andros pushed himself up, and slumped down into the Captain s seat. He watched the moon grow larger in the viewport . 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Excuse me sir, is there something I can help you with?"

Tommy shook his head, hastily. Apparently the android had noticed his staring at him. "No, uh, of course not."

The android nodded its domed head, and returned to work.

"What did you say your name was?" he asked.

The robot looked back to him. "My name is Alpha 7. I am the latest in a long line of Alpha androids. Have you ever seen one?"

Tommy grinned, remembering his old robot buddies, Alpha 6, and even more so Alpha 5. Alpha 7 s body resembled theirs quite closely. Its head was horizontally disc shaped, with the crown curving upward. Its body was short and pudgy, yet clean and shiny as ever. In the center of its torso was a bright yellow lightning bolt, the trademark of the Alpha android series.

"I think I saw one once." Tommy replied. "I m not sure though. It might have been a Beta android."

"Well," Alpha replied. "I assure you that the Alpha android series is among the most useful of the cybernetic assistance groups in the universe! In fact-"

Tommy kept a half ear open to what the robot was saying, as his eyes scanned the Megaship s eatery. He d been taken aback when Andros told him they d be traveling to the moon by spaceship, as opposed to teleporting there the way he and the Rangers used to do. Tommy was no rookie to space travel, but he knew nothing about all these space gizmos. He was a leader, he knew, and a fighter, but never a technical whiz.

"Now if you ll excuse me," the robot continued. I must attend to the damaged rear stabalyzer." Alpha shuffled toward the eatery door, but jumped as it opened prematurely.

"Oh," Alpha said. "Hello sir."

"Alpha?" he heard Jason exclaim. "Is that you?"

Alpha nodded. "Why yes! I am Alpha 7, the latest in a long-"

"Ehem," Tommy coughed, calling for his friend s attention. "Long story Jay."

Jason nodded, and patted the android on its domed head. The visitor stepped inside, and stood across from the table at which Tommy sat. The raven-haired man picked at the salad in front of him, smiling up at his old friend and partner.

He pushed himself out of his chair, and walked over to the coffee machine on the nearby counter. "Have a seat."

Jason accepted the invitation, but Tommy noticed that he seemed to be fixated on his actions. As if he were doing something unusual .

Tommy stirred the coffee in his styrophoam cup, and sat back down. For a few seconds, nothing was said, as the two men simply smiled, caught up in the moment.

"It s good to see you Jason." Tommy finally said.

Jason nodded. "Hey bro, you know I ve always got your back. Even if you have done a lousy job of keeping in touch."

Tommy shrugged. "You know me right?"

"Yep, I definetly do."

He smiled, and took a sip from his cup.

Suddenly, Jason s expression changed. "For example, I know you never drink caffeine-"

With the cup still at his lips, Tommy s eyes met Jason s.

"-unless you ve got something on your mind."

Tommy shuffled his brown shoes on the floor. "Is it that obvious?"

Jason grinned. "Not to them. When they look at you, they re too in awe of the legendary Tommy Oliver to see anything like that."

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. "So you re not impressed by my legendary status huh?"

He shrugged. "It s not that. It s just that when I look at you, I can still see the Green Ranger."

Tommy glanced down at the floor. "I don t know, I mean, it s all just happening so fast."

"What is?"

"All this. It s like d j vu, only it s hitting you so fast, it kind of freaks me out.

Jason nodded. "That crossed my mind too. But I thought you kind of stayed in the game? I mean, what about this whole thing with Andros?"

Tommy shrugged. "I advised him on the battle tactics of the Machine Empire. He figured if anybody could get him some insight into what was going on in those rusty little brains of theirs, it was me. There was never any real work involved on my part."

Jason popped a stick of gum into his mouth, and cocked his right eyebrow. "Are you scared?"

Tommy shook his head. "No."

"Good."

"Are you?"

The left side of Jason s mouth curled into a half smiled. "Maybe a little."

"Me too."

Jason laughed.

"So, you think we ll be able to do this again?" Tommy asked.

"What?" Jason said. "A couple of old timers like us?"

The other man laughed. "Yeah."

"We ll do alright." Jason said, nodding assuringly.

Tommy nodded back. Seeing Jason again gave him a renewed reassurance that he hadn t had before. They both had so much in common, and had experienced so much together as Power Rangers. Knowing Jason was a bit unsure of himself too, lifted a weight from Tommy s shoulders.

"So ." He asked. "Do you ever miss it?"

Jason seemed to gaze off into space for a moment, and then return. "Occasionally."

"I don t think about it as much as I used to." Tommy replied.

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Well, the way I see it, if you get stuck in the past, what kind of future could you possibly have?"

Jason nodded. "That s true."

"Hey," Tommy said. "How s Emily doing?"

He grinned. "Well, does the fact that she s pregnant say anything?"

Tommy s eyes widened. "No way ."

"Yep." Jason said. She s about seven months along."

The other man blinked, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Man, that s amazing! Do you know if it s a boy or a girl?"

Jason smiled. "She wants to be surprised. Personally, I think that idea sucks."

He laughed. "Boy, imagine that. A little Red Ranger running around the house in diapers!"

"Yeah, who d a thought huh?"

"Hey," Tommy said, his mood suddenly changing. "Did you ever tell her?"

"About this?"

Tommy nodded.

Jason seemed hesitant for a moment, as if he were thinking about his answer. "Yeah, I did tell her. Once it started to get serious, it got to the point where I couldn t keep it from her anymore. I mean, it was such a huge part of my life. How can you keep something like that from someone you re so close to? Especially your wife?"

"How did she react?" he asked.

"Well, surprised, naturally." Jason replied. "She had a lot of questions, that s for sure. It didn t really change our relationship all that much. I think she just sees it as kind of a part time job I had during High School."

Tommy laughed. "Part time? I don t think so."

"Yeah, you can say that again."

"Did you ever tell her about me, or the others?"

Jason shook his head. "No. But even if I did, she would respect your secret. I know she used to think about it a lot, but it s not like that anymore. There are times when I think she completely forgets about it. I think I told her at just the right time, when she d grown to love me and respect me for who I am. If I d told her too soon, then she d basically be dating me because I had been a Power Ranger."

Tommy grinned, shaking his head at his old friend. "That s pretty incredible bro."

He smiled back at his friend. "What about you? How s the wife-"

Suddenly, Jason was cut off by D.E.C.A. s voice over the intercom. "Tommy Oliver, please report to the ready room. Repeat, Tommy Oliver to the ready room."

Tommy pushed himself up from the chair. "That s probably Alpha. I asked him to help me prep for the mission briefing. I guess he s finished with that stabilizer."

"Hey bro," the other man said. "Meet up with me later. We ve got some more catching up to do."

Tommy held out his hand for Jason to slap. "You bet bro. Mission briefing in 45 minutes."

Jason accepted the gesture. "I ll be there."

Then, as Tommy started to walk away, Jason called back to him. "Hey," he called. "What about your coffee?"

Tommy looked back at his old friend. "Hey man, I don t drink caffeine." He smiled. "You obviously don t know me at all."

***  
>Ducked behind the corner of one of the Megaships many turns, Cole watched Tommy walk out of the eatery. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten a bit. This was his chance to approach Jason, and make up for the fool he d made of himself back at the spaceport.<p>

Okay, he thought to himself, he d survived a childhood in the amazon, he was the leader of the Wild Force Rangers, and he had his very own Lion Wild Zord. Impressing another Ranger would be easy!

Cole swaggered toward the door, mentally coaching himself. So what if he was the original Red Ranger? Big deal! So what if he had bigger muscles? Big whoop! And the fact that Cole had acted like a total idiot in front of him at the spaceport? Whoopdee doo!

He was just a person after all...

The door to the eatery slid open, and Cole stepped in. Jason was seated at a table eating a sandwich. He looked up, and waved his hand in greeting. "Hey rookie."

Cole put a smile on his brightest, friendliest smile. "Hey Jason!" He decided that his first goal would be to make Jason stop calling him rookie . Despite the fact that he had the least experience of any of the other Rangers, he didn t exactly consider himself a novice.

He pulled out the chair across from the veteran Ranger, and sat down. "So, how are you Jason?" he asked, trying to be as open, and approachable as possible.

"I m good kid," he replied.

"Uh, my name s Cole .."

Jason looked up from his plate, with a small grin on his face.

Cole put on his big smile again, and nodded. He popped the next question, in a series that he d rehearsed over and over again. "So how does it feel to be back in action?"

"Not bad." He replied. "By the way, nice headband."

Cole laughed. "Thank you."

"Very Woodstock. I m liking it."

Cole frowned in confusion for a moment, but then suddenly, his smile was back as he nodded in recognition. "Oh yeah! I love Woodstock! And Snoopy, and Charlie Brown, and all the others! They re really funny!"

Jason stopped chewing, and seemed to stare at Cole for a few moments. The young man s hands suddenly felt clammy. Had he said something wrong?

He clenched the seat of the chair, and blurted out his next question. "So, um .where are you from?"

"Angel Grove." He replied. "It s a beautiful place, it s got great suberbs, a nice city, everything you d ever want in a home. What about you?" He picked up his can of soda and took a sip.

Cole s stomach tightened. He hadn t counted on Jason asking that question! There was no way he could tell him where he was really from. The veteran Ranger would be disgusted and look down on him as a savage! His mind raced for a location .

"Oh ..um I m from uh Neptune!"

Jason instantly spit the soda out across the table, nearly soaking Cole. "I m sorry, what did you say?"

"Uh .Neptune. That s right. Neptune City! Have you heard of it?"

Apparently not." Jason answered.

"Oh, you should come down sometime! It s the most beautiful place you ll ever see! It s a wonderful city, with great um " Cole looked down at Jason s plate. " sandwiches!"

Jason cocked his right eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Cole felt the sweat soak the back of his neck. "Oh yeah! The best antelope sandwiches you ll ever have!"

"Antelope?"

"Oh yeah, it s great! I used to eat it all the time when I was a kid." Cole smiled. At least now he was talking about something he knew about. "Though your hands get a little messy. You ve got to be careful about getting the blood on your hands."

Jason grimaced. "Sounds tasty." He took a sip from his soda can, but couldn t help but dribble a bit down his chin.

Alarmed, Cole quickly pushed himself out of his chair, and grabbed a napkin. Before the veteran Ranger could reach for his, Cole was already dabbing Jason s chin with his own napkin.

"What are you doing?" Jason cried, swatting Cole s hand away.

"Oh, I uh " Cole stammered, speechless.

"Listen rookie," Jason exclaimed. "You seem like a nice kid, and I m sure you re good at what you do. But until we get down there, just stay away from me okay?"

Jason shoved himself up and stormed out of the eatery, leaving Cole alone, napkin in hand. The Red Wild Force Ranger forced down the tears behind his eyes. He was doomed from the start. Now it was even worse.

And to top it all off, the corners of his mouth were sore from smiling so big . 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A/N I still sadly own nothing

They were an image of unadulturated beauty, a sight that sent ripples of joy through the emotion chip of General Venjix. It wasn t the first time he d seen them assembled in masses like this. In fact, he d seem them gathered in far greater numbers.

But this time it was different.

This time they were his.

The Cogs, even when shielded from the light of the stars by the roof of the moon base, seemed to glimmer before him, like a brand new blaster, or a freshly polished sword. He marveled at the sight of his grand army.

And now, as he faced them, perched on a podium alongside his fellow generals, they were silent. Not even the sound of a creaking joint, or a turning gear, just their stone cold faces, etched into their golden dome heads, starting up at him. Reaching up to his throat, he turned his voice modulator up to full blast, and began.

"Ah yes, my might Cogs! As your leader and future ruler of the universe, I commend you for you efforts in retrieving our new ultimate weapon! Without you, the mighty Machine Empire would cease to exist!"

In response, the mechanical soldiers began a slow, emotionless clap. It was their only method of showing enthusiasm.

"I know that your joints are rusty, and your insides are filled with dust and grime. But fear not!" Venjix slammed his robotic first on to the podium. "Once we have conquered the squalored, vermin infested planet of Earth, each of you will have a team of humans assigned to tend to your every need! We all will! Our empire will rise from the ashes, and ignite into a blazing inferno that will consume all the living! "

The dull clapping continued.

"Ever since the tragic loss of our leader, the glorious King Mondo, we have been forced to wander the universe in hiding. But no more!"

He flung his mechanical arm forward, pointing behind the Cogs toward their new ultimate weapon. "With this, the greatest Zord ever built, we will be able to rebuild the Machine Empire, and at last have revenge on those who destroyed our illustrious leader!"

As the clapping continued, Venjix looked behind him to see his fellow generals applauding as well. "Now my Cogs, go! Prepare yourselves, for the day of reckoning is upon us at last!" As the mechanical soldiers stomped out of the moon base, their rhythmic walks seemingly in sync with one another, Venjix stepped down from the podium. He motioned for his peer officers to follow him.

Gerrok touched Venjix on the shoulder. "Excellent speech general. I was inspired sir."

Steelon s head twisted at Gerrok. "Then why were you oiling your armpits as he was beginning?"

The green robot smacked Steelon s domed head. "Silence! You overgrown waste disposer!"

"Waste disposer?" the robot exclaimed. He touched a button on his right thigh, opening a compartment, from which he drew a small blaster. He promptly aimed at Gerrok. "Dispose this!"

Venjix quickly stepped in front of the gun s nozzle, and proceeded to bend it backward, resulting in a loud creaking sound. He shook his antennaed head at Steelon. "Never, ever aim at one of your own. We need each other, now more than ever. The time draws closer ."

Steelon bowed his head. "My most sincere apologies General Venjix." He gave his best attempt at ignoring Gerrok s scornful shaking of his head.

"Automon," Venjix called back to the red, orange, and silver robot. "Has it been cleaned, and ridden of all debris?"

The robot nodded. "Yes General Venjix."

"Tezzla, have you re-powered its weapon systems?"

"All artillery power is at full General." She replied.

"And Gerrok, how is the installation of the Neo Plutonium Reactor progressing?"

Gerrok bowed his head. "I ordered the Cogs to continue installing following your speech sir. They are working as we speak."

Then, the five generals came to a hault, and stared up at their new ultimate weapon of destruction. The gigantic Zord,, colored a dull green stretched nearly 250 feet in length. Though currently deactivated, when powered up, its eyes would glow a fiery red, smoke would emit from the nostril shaped vents, and it would roar a thunderous roar. Two deadly horns protruded from its head, and it s legs were tipped with jagged claws .  
>Venjix crossed his arms, ,and marveled at his new tyrannical serpent Zord. "Ahhh, Serpentera."<p>

He looked back at his fellow generals. "Remember that name my friends, for it is t he sound of virtue s end."

"It s quite a shame Zedd isn t here for it s finest hour." Tezzla hissed.

"Yes " Venjix growled. "What a shame that is."

"General," Automon said. "I m sure you realize that as a result of this attack, many useful humans will die."

"Yes," Gerrok agreed. "This invasion will slaughter thousands."

Venjix nodded. "But of course Generals. Why, that s half the fun of it ."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

A/N Own nothing

Walking through the halls of the Megaship, Tommy mentally reviewed what he planned to say to the group, who had assembled in the ready room. All but Andros, who T.J. had last seen on the bridge. He approached the entrance, still not used to doors sliding open automatically. This spaceship thing still took some getting used to.

Stepping inside, he was greeted by Andros back, as he stood straight as an arrow, staring out into space through the viewport. Tommy opened his mouth to call his partner, but then frowned as he noticed something that hadn t been there before. Andros right hand was now lined with a white bandages, through which a few small bloodstains were visible.

The Kerovan looked over his shoulder. He quickly shot his eyes up to meet the other mans.

"You alright?" Tommy asked, motioning to the bandage.

Andros nodded, though the veteran Ranger noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and that his cheeks looked red. "Yes."

"Hey man, listen, if you need to-"

"Approaching targeted coordinates." D.E.C.A. announced, cutting Tommy off.

The moon s rocky surface now filled the viewport. It had beenn so long since Tommy had seen it up close. For a moment, he was taken aback by the sight.

"Are you ready?" Andros asked, his voice deeper, and gruffer than normal.

He switched back to reality. "Yeah, I was just coming to get you actually."

Andros nodded. "Good. Lets go then."

As the two men approached the ready room, Tommy tried not to glance down at the bandage, nor look at Andros directly, for fear of making him feel awkward. The irony caught him, as he hadn t even known what Andros looked like until the previous day. They had always communicated by phone, and when Andros had spoken to him in person, it was under the mask of the Red Ranger. Tommy never had a problem with that, but overtime, it had become clear that Andros possessed a much darker, elusive side to his personality, that one might miss among first look.

But Tommy didn t have a problem with that either. He of all people knew that the human spirit had its dark sides

Inside the ready room, the Rangers were seated at a round table, with an open holo projector in the center. That was another unique feature that Tommy wasn t used to. Around the projector were three small black and green boxes, the contents of which, he knew not.

"Good news." Andros said, passing Alpha, who was hooking the projector into a power cell on the wall. "I ve just contacted Leo Corbett on Mirinoi, and Aurico on Aquitar. Both were glad to help, and will be here as soon as they can."

"Leo is a good fighter." Carter replied. "He ll be a valuable asset in battle."

"And I ve worked with Aurico." Said Tommy. "Despite not being human, he ll go to whatever lengths he can to assist us."

Alpha 7 turned to the veteran Ranger. "It s all ready Tommy." The android handed him a small remote.

Tommy nodded. "Lets get started then." He aimed the remote at the projector in the center of the table, and clicked it on. The device lit up, and a clip of various massive vessels surfacing over the moon s horizon projected above the table. Squadrons of small one man starfighters soared through space, as hundreds of ground troops assembled on the surface. Man sized mechanical soldiers were shown scurrying along, many holding large firearms, gear shaped shields, or long swords that glistened in the starlight.

Finally, an image of a rotund, blue and silver robot, wearing an oversized crown flashed above the perojector.

Tommy pressed the pause button on the remote. "This, is the Machine Empire."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "They must have one hell of a mechanic."

"Several years ago," Tommy continued. "King Mondo brought his grand robotic Empire into our galaxy from the depths of space. Their intentions were clear: invade and conquer."

Andros stepped forward. "They despise all things that live and breathe, particularly humans. They see life as a plague in the flawless world of machines."

"They know only of hatred and destruction." Tommy said. "Luckily, myself, Jason, and the other Zeo Rangers succeeded in defeating them, driving them from their base on Earth s moon.

"But now, the last surviving members of the Empire, have assembled into a grand army, under the command of General Venjix. They ve set up a base in the sea of tranquility on the moon, once again intending to invade and conquer Earth."

Tommy clicked the projector back on. Footage of the Cogs digging and scraping away at the surface of the moon blazed overhead. The screen zoomed in on a robot painted black and silver, with large black eyes, two antennaes sprouting from it s cranium, and a large red gem in the center of it s torso.

"I shot this footage just over twenty four hours ago." Andros said. "The black robot in the center of the screen is Venjix, the new leader of the Machine Empire. As opposed to King Mondo, who sought to destroy the humans, Venjix hopes to enslave mankind, and use them as his servants and soldiers."

"But why wait on the moon?" Wes asked. "Why not take the planet by surprise?"

Eric squinted at the projector. "And what are they digging up?"

"Serpentera."

All eyes turned to Jason. The original Red Ranger looked to Tommy, his eyes asking for confirmation.

Tommy nodded, answering his question. "Years ago, there lived an evil sorceror by the name of Lord Zedd. He had once established a palace on Earth s moon, at which he kept all of his belongings, treasures, and weapons. Including his own personal Zord .."

The projector then changed. An image of a giant mechanical serpent flew across the screen. It s eyes glowed blood red, and it s two nostrils puffed smoke into its surroundings. The Zords body moved almost rhythmically, like a snake. Just before Tommy stopped the image, the beast let out a mighty roar."

" ..Serpentera."

"The smoke is a bit much." Eric joked.

Andros glared at Eric. "Serpentera is no laughing matter. It is without a doubt one of the most dominant and destructive battle machines ever created. It s power equals that of roughly five or six MegaZords. It also has the ability to change it s form into a vertical battle mode. When Serpentera stands, it s roughly twice as tall as most MegaZords.

Carter nodded. "The Lightspeed databanks have a small file on Serpentera, but it s so small that it s hardly even significant enough to look at."

"Some of the intergalactic historians I ve met don t even like to talk about it." T.J. added. "Saying its name even makes them uncomfortable."

"But wait," Cole said. "If this Zord is so powerful, then why bury it on the moon to begin with? Why didn t Lord Zedd use it to attack Earth?"

"He did." Tommy replied. "But Serepentera has one incredible flaw. When it was built, it was so incredibly advanced, and ahead of it s time, that it required a great deal of fuel to do simple things. The Zord would often burn out it s entire fuel supply on a simple space voyage, let alone the use of it s uncanny powers and weapons. Eventually, Zedd simply gave up on Serpentera, and had his servants bury it on the moon."

"But now," Andros continued. "The Machine Empire looks to be fitting the Zord with a Neo Plutonium reactor. Thus, Serpentera will now be able to operate for much longer periods of time. It will be much more powerful, and dangerous than ever before. This Zord poses more of a threat to the universe now than ever."

"So the Machine Empire has more than enough power to destroy Earth." Jason announced.

Cole s eyes were hard and serious. "We have to stop them there, on the moon. It could be our only chance."

"He s right." Carter agreed. "If that thing reaches the planet, the consequences could be disastous."

Eric nodded, a smug look on his face. "Looks like we re the planet s only hope."

Tommy s stomach turned a bit. Though he d known it from the beginning, Eric s words had brought back a feeling he hadn t experienced in years. That unique mix of fear and adrenaline that he d carried inside him every time the power had surged through his body. Suddenly it was all up to you. Failure was not an option. It was all or nothing .

He almost smiled.

T.J. held his hands up. "Okay, this is all very enlightening. But what you still haven t mentioned is how I m somehow supposed to recharge my Red Turbo powers. I mean, they were destroyed years ago!"

"That s right." Jason added. "I ve been wondering that myself. How am I supposed to get my powers back? Especially after all this time?"

Tommy and Andros looked to Alpha 7. The android shuffled around the table to Jason s chair.

"Jason, Tommy, and T.J., in order for you to be of service to the Earth, your old powers will need to be resurrected.

"Jason, following the transfer of your Red Ranger powers to Rocky DeSantos, the Rangers underwent an evolution of sorts. With the aid of Ninjor, a wise Ninja warrior, the Power Rangers received new Ninja powers. With these new powers came a new set of Power coins to replace the original Dinosaur ones. With the original Power Coins of no use to the Rangers, Zordon hid them away in the depths of the Command Center, and later, the Power Chamber.

"But when Lord Zedd finally succeeded in destroying the six Ninja coins, the Morphing Grid, which gave the team the power to morph, and access their powers, was thrown entirely off balance, and nearly destroyed. As a result, it remained unstable for years, and use of the Dinosaur coins was deemed unsafe. According to data fed to me by Alpha 6 on Mirinoi, one Ranger attempted to access the grid over four years ago and was nearly killed in the process."

Jason frowned. "So you re saying it s not safe for me to access the Morphing Grid?"

Alpha shook his head. "Well, there may in fact be a way. When the grid was declared unstable, an Aquitian scientist named William Cranston has been attempting to piece the grid back together, and bring it back into balance."

Jason s jaw dropped at the sound of a familiar name. He looked to Tommy, who simply grinned.

"While the grid is still not entirely stable, and may never be again, it has been deemed safe enough for you to morph into the Red Ranger for one time only, using your original Dinosaur Power Coin."

"That s awesome! Just then, Jason s expression changed from excited, to confused. But I thought you said Zordon hid the coins in the Power Chamber? Wasn t it destroyed by Divatox?"

With that, Alpha reached to the center of the table, and picked up one of the three boxes. He held it out in front of Jason. ""Zordon treasured his Power Coins. He would never have let any harm come to them, or worse, let them fall into the wrong hands. Thus, when he was finally granted freedom from the time warp in which he was imprisoned, he took the coins with him to his home planet of Eltare. But when the planet later came under attack from Dark Specter, he sent the coins to a place where he knew they would be safe from the forces of evil."

"The planet K0-35."

Jason looked to Andros. "Zordon s power coins have remained on my home planet for years, hidden from those who would use them for impure causes."

Alpha lifted the lid. "Until now."

Jason stood up, and looked inside to see the six golden coins that had powered the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Each one bore the marking of a particular Dinosaur or beast, and glowed its respective color. They were all there: the White Tiger, Mastodon, Pterodactyl, Triceretops, Saber Toothed Tiger ..

He reached in, and removed the final coin, the Tyrannosaurus coin, his coin.

For a moment, he simply looked down at it, memories from his teenage years flowing through him like water through a stream. He closed his fist around it.

"The power is on, boys."

Alpha then turned to Tommy. "Tommy, your Red Zeo Powers were abandoned when you took control of the Red Turbo Powers. The Zeo Powers, as you know, drew from the mighty Zeo Crystal, a crystal possessing powers of unparralelled strength!"

Tommy nodded. "But where is the Zeo Crystal now?"

"When Dimitria fled the Power Chamber upon it s destruction, she knew that if abandoned, the Zeo Crystal would most certainly fall into evil hands. Thus, she took the Crystal with her to Eltare, and would later use it to help defend her home planet against Dark Specter s forces." The android s domed head turned a bit. "But, when Specter s minions were destroyed, the Crystal was no longer needed, and it has remained on Eltare ever since,"

Andros looked to his partner. "I contacted Dimitria on Eltare, and she transported this to us." He gestured to the second box. "She told us it was all you would need."

Tommy picked up the box, and opened it. Inside was a small, star shaped stone, which Tommy recognized instantly as his piece of the Zeo Crystal, the one that had powered the Red Zeo Ranger. He squeezed it in his hand. The star shaped crystal instantly illuminated in red electricity. Tommy felt the energy shoot into his arms, and throughout his body.

He smiled. It was really happening .

Finally, the surge of electricity stopped, and the crystal stopped glowing in Tommy s hand. He looked down his body, bewildered. He had expected the crystal to start a chain reaction that would morph him into the Red Zeo Ranger. What had the crystal just done to him?

"Ummm," Eric said. "That was interesting."

Suddenly, Tommy remembered.

He held out his right wrist, and flicked it counter clock wise. Instantly, a small wrist morpher appeared on his wrist. He flicked his left wrist clockwise, and had the same result with the opposite wrist. He recognized his Zeonizers, wrist held devices that when used, would transform him into the fifth Zeo Ranger.

Tommy grinned. "Looks like I m back."

T.J. crossed his arms. "Okay, this is all well and good." He said. "But if you guys can find a way to bring back the Turbo Powers, which are as gone as gone can be, you ll have my respect."

The androids head swiveled to meet the young man s. "Actually, it s not as complicated as it might seem.

"When Divatox destroyed the Power Chamber, the Red, Green, Yellow, and Pink Turbo powers perished. But somehow, the Blue Ranger s powers managed to survive. The morpher would eventually be discovered by Divatox s Piranhatrons as they rooted through the remains of the Chamber.

"Later, the captured Turbo vehicle Storm Blaster was able to obtain possession of the morpher, and return it to the original Blue Turbo Ranger on Earth."

T.J. nodded. "That explains how he was able to save me, Andros, and the rest of the Space Rangers that time we were captured."

Alpha nodded. "Storm Blaster then took the morpher, and travel to Eltare to give it to Dimitria.

"Dimitria, fearing that Eltare would one day need it s own team of Rangers, began to reconstruct the Turbo powers. To do so, she simply duplicated the Blue powers four times, and made all the neccisary modifications. Being as the Turbo Rangers drew power from Eltare in the first place, Dimitria was able to ressurect the Turbo Powers within a matter of weeks."

T.J. shook his head in awe. "That s incredible!"

"However," Alpha said. "Once the forces of evil were eliminated, the Turbo Powers, like the Zeo Crystal, were left dormant."

Andros turned to T.J., speaking to him in a slightly lower tone than he d used with the others. "Dimitria was also willing to give us the new Red Turbo morpher." He said.

Alpha reached for the third box on the table, and held it out to T.J. The young man lifted the lid, to see a small wrist device, with a slot etched in its side. To it s left was a key roughly four inches long, with a tip that matched the outline of the hole.

"You ll find these new powers to be identical to your old ones." Alpha said as T.J. strapped on his new Turbo morpher.

"Unreal " he said, in awe.

The android set the box down. "However, Jason and T.J., you will both be at a disadvantage from the other Rangers, because neither of you have command of your original Zords, as they were destroyed respectively."

"I don t have a Zord to power either." Carter replied. "Our MegaZords were all destroyed in our final battle with Diabolico and Olympius."

"We ll manage." Jason said. "If it comes down to that, we ll just have to do the best we can."

Alpha turned to Tommy. "Tommy, as the Red Zeo Ranger, you will once again command the Red Battle Zord."

Tommy smiled at the robot. "You know, for a new android, you ve really outdone yourself."

Alpha let out an emotionless mechanical chuckle. "It has been an honor sir."

Suddenly, D.E.C.A. s voice came over the intercom. "Position in moon s orbit reached, awaiting further commands."

"Put all systems on stand by." Andros called. He then looked to the others. "We ve arrived."

Carter straightened in his chair. "How are we supposed to make our approach?"

Andros nodded to Tommy, who pressed a red button on the projector s remote. The frozen image of Serpentera instantly changed, spreading out over the table ino a three dimensional view of the moon s surface. On one side was the moon base, and a still Serpentera. To the other side was an area highlighted with a light red, which Andros motioned to. "We ll land the Megaship at this point here. That will give us a good amount of distance, so we can avoid ground troops as we land."

"I thought you said they could track us?" Cole asked.

He nodded. "They can. But when we start the approach, we ll be jamming their tracking signals. They ll know someone is coming, they just won t know who, or from where.

"What sort of ground troops are we looking at?" Wes asked.

"Cogs mostly." Andros replied. "When I was down there, I didn t see any tanks or walkers of any kind."

"So that s another advantage." Cole noted.

"Not nessicarily." Jason replied. "The Cogs easily out number us. When you look at the math here, you ve got eight guys, or ten if those other two join us, against a small army. They could easily overpower us."

"Cogs may be formidable soldiers, but they don t have the mind power, or the fighting skills that we do. Tommy pointed out. The only thing they have going for them are numbers."

Andros stepped forward. "Does anyone have any other questions before we continue?"

The room was silent.

Tommy nodded. "Good. Everyone to the bridge then. We ll join you in a moment." The six men pushed themselves up from the table, and started for the bridge.

"Andros," Alpha 7 called gesturing toward Tommy and Andros. The robot pressed a small button on it s torso, ejecting a small compact disc from a slot just above it s waistline. Your suspicions were correct about Project Crimson, it is possible."

Andros nodded, taking the disc from Alpha. "Good."

Tommy frowned. "Project Crimson? What s this about?"

"Hopefully nothing we need to concern ourselves with." Andros replied. "Just keep this disc with you from now until this mission is over. It s our backup plan."

Tommy nodded. "Always have a backup plan."

The two men then followed the others down the corridor to the bridge, as Alpha 7 watched them leave. "Good luck Rangers," the robot said to itself.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

A/N This time on Power Rangers dammit I don't own anything

It was only a stone.

Actually, it was more of a boulder. But either way, what difference did that make?

Leo Corbett pushed his way through the seemingly endless jungle that made up the surface of Mirinoi. It had never ceased to amaze him the way a simple rock could contain and protect one of the greatest powers in the universe: The five legendary Quasar Sabers. Each one placed into the stone by a mythical warrior centuries ago. Legend told that only a Quasar Saber s rightful successor could remove it from its dormant position. Hundreds upon thousands of the galaxy s greatest warriors had come to Mirinoi in attempt to force the swords from the stone, and reveal themselves as one of the chosen five.

All tried, and all had failed.

All had failed, but them. The young man came to a hault as he stood before the stone. He reached out, and closed his fist around the center sword. Red Lion Quasar Saber had been his.

Even now he could feel the electricity rushing through his bones as he touched the grip of the sword. At that moment, his mind clicked back to the first time he had held the Saber in his hand. The day he had snuck about Terra Venture as it left the Earth. The day he, Kendrix, Damon, Kai, and his brother Mike had traveled to Mirinoi to help the native Maya protect her home planet from the forces of evil. The day that Leo had uncovered his true destiny, as he learned that he was to become the Red Galaxy Power Ranger.

As he gripped his Quasar Saber, he knew that in moments, he would be again ..

"Leo! Stop!"

Leo twisted around at the sound of a female voice. Pushing her way across the greenery at a rapid pace was a young woman. Her sky blue eyes were wide with alarm, as her hair bounced behind her. The freckles on her face only accentuated her obvious state of alarm.

"Karone," he said, recognizing his friend, and former teammate. Karone had once taken Kendrix s place as the Pink Galaxy Ranger. "What are you doing here?"

She held herself up by Leo s broad shoulders as she struggled to catch her breath. "Mike .told me .about some sort of ..call mission on Earth?"

He nodded, releasing the saber. "That s right. I m needed on Earth s moon. The message said that the fate of the entire planet is in jeapordy."

"No!" Karone cried, shaking her head adamantly. "You can t go! The colonists are only days away from making their decision regarding the war! You can t just run off on some totally unrelated mission! We need you here!"

The young man put his hand on Karone s shoulder. "It ll be fine Karone, trust me. You guys will do fine while I m gone. I couldn t possibly take more than a few days."

Karone pushed Leo s arm away. "I don t think you understand Leo. As a Power Ranger, you mean a lot to this planet. And if you just take off out of the blue, people are going to start talking."

Leo sighed. She was right. As one of the five chosen by the Quasar Sabers, Leo and the others had become serrogate leaders to the natives, as well as the colonists, during these troubling times. Leaving for Earth wasn t going to go unnoticed .

But Earth was his home planet. He d been born there. He couldn t just let the possibility of a major attack slip through his mind.

"I m sorry Karone," he replied. "But I can t just ignore it. Earth is my home." He reached for the saber again.

The young woman cut him off, gripping the weapon just under Leo s hand. "This is your home Leo. And don t you ever forget that."

Leo sighed, and dropped his hand yet again. Ever since the conflict on Mirinoi had started his life, as well as the lifes of all those around him, had been plunged into turmoil and controversy.

It had all started out as a perfect little dream sequence. Terra Venture, Earth s first ever space colony, had set out to discover a new world. After close to a year, they had found Mirinoi, also the home planet of Maya, the Yellow Galaxy Ranger. The planet had all the necessities of life as humans knew it: oxygen, carbon based plant life, water. It was primarily a jungle planet, mostly primitive to the colonists. But Terra Venture s high command had high hopes that both the natives, and the colonists could do their share of adapting, to suit their respective lifestyles.

It had all gone terribly wrong.

For the first few months, there had been mostly peace between the two parties, as the settlers began to get used to their new surroundings. Their homes on Terra Venture, had been destroyed with the city dome, and thus, modern day Americans were forced to live primitive lifestyles. This left a number of the settlers unhappy. Thus, many of those who could afford it left Mirinoi to return to Earth. Those who could not were stuck.

But then, things began to change. To the delight of most settlers, Terra Venture s architects began to unveil their plans for a grand city on Mirinoi, the likes of which Earth had never known. Not only a city, but an outer ring of suberbs as well. No longer would they have to live like primitives. They could return to life as they knew it!

The natives had been open to the idea of urbanization on their planet. Mirinoi had always been a peaceful planet, willing to compromise to solve any problem.

But little did they know the effects this new city would have. Miles upon miles of their once beautiful land were destroyed, forcing many of the natives to relocate, while robbing thousands of animals of their homes. The settlers and their argantuan machines polluted their glorious atmosphere, and poisoned their plant life.

After nearly eighteen months of construction, the natives could no longer stand for the destruction of their homeland, and promptly voiced their protest to the new city. But the colonists had refused to listen, deeming the natives ignorant, and unaware of the virtues that this new city would bring to them!

Finally, the line in the sand was crossed when the colonists unintentionally destroyed a historic Mirinoian landmark. Since that day, the colonists and the natives had been in a constant power struggle with one another, each fighting for their respective vision of the planet.

And now, as Leo stared into Karone s dark eyes, he knew that civil war had become a serious option, and was possibly days away.

But Leo had always believed, that as a Power Ranger, it was his responsibility to defend what was just, and true in the universe. Not only that, but to defend those in need. And if Earth was in need, then it was his duty to be there, to protect and serve his home planet.

"Karone ." He said, his voice deep with intent. "What if it was K0-35?"

Leo could see the edge dissapear from Karone s eyes. He hadn t wanted to strike low like that, but he needed her to see his point.

Disheartened, Karone crossed her arms. "What s this all about Leo? And who called you anyway?"

Leo turned away from her. He knew that she would have to learn eventually. He had just hoped it would have been after he left .

But deep inside, he knew that she deserved to know.

He sighed. "Your brother."

Even without looking at her, Leo could feel Karone s reaction, and mentally cringed. "Andros? What does he need you for? Is he in some kind of trouble?"

Leo turned to face her. "It s something about a Zord being dug up on Earth s moon. I think he said it was ..Centaur .Serva .."

Karone let her head fall into her right hand. She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "Serpentera. "Oh god Leo .not Serpentera .."

"Karone, you don t need to worry. I ll-"

"You re right."

Leo smiled, pleasantly surprised.

"You re the one who should be worried."

He looked down at his feet. Once again, she was right. There weren t many things that Andros would admit needing help with. Whatever this was, Leo knew it had to be something of incomparable proportions.

"I know Karone." He replied. "But you have to have faith in me. You have to have faith in Andros"

He looked into her eyes. "You do have faith in us, don t you?"

Her shoulders sank. "Of course I do Leo."

Leo turned back to his Quasar Saber. "Then you have to have faith that I will return."

She nodded. "Okay then."

The young man made sure that she didn t see the small grin appear on his face. The guilt trip method always worked. He gripped the Red Lion Quasar Saber.

"But don t say I didn t warn you."

The sound of steel scraping against stone echoed through the jungle, as Leo pulled the sword from the stone. As the light of the sun shined down upon the newly freed blade, it began to illuminate a bright red. Leo raised the Quasar Saber to the sky, preparing to receive the power.

"Go Galactic!" he shouted.

Karone looked on as the red energy instantaneously consumed the body of Leo Corbett, his entire form shining brightly across the Mirinoi forest.

Then, as the light recessed back into the saber, Leo was no more. In his place was a man clas in a red suit. A dark visor was centered on his red helmet, just above his silver mouth piece, and below the pair of lion eyes designed into the head piece. On his torso he wore a white vest, marked with a black diagonal design. In his white gloved hand he held the Lion Quasar Saber.

Leo Corbett morphed into the Red Galaxy Ranger.

Karone approached the Red Ranger, and hugged him tightly.

He chuckled. "Easy there. Remember, you have a boyfriend."

She laughed, and shoved Leo s helmet away at the reference to Zhane, Andros best friend, and her longtime boyfriend.

The Red Galaxy Ranger put his hands on Karone s shoulders. "I ll be back Karone. I promise."

She nodded. "I wish I could be there with you."

Leo pounded his fist over his heart. "You will be. All of Mirinoi will be with me."

Karone smiled. "Good luck."

He nodded. "You too."

The Red Ranger backed off a few steps. He reached his hand into the air. "Jet Jammer!"

Seconds later, an airborne red cart whizzed through by the trees, and set down next to the Red Ranger. Leo hopped into his Jet Jammer, and gave Karone a quick salute with his index and middle fingers.

The young woman waved, and watched as the Red Galaxy Ranger sped off into space, on his way to Aquitar, to pick up another Ranger.

Karone crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"Andros, why are you such an idiot ?"

From space it was like a big blue ball. Like the kind the little Aqualings would play with. At this distance, Aurico, the Red Aquitar Ranger, could just barely make out all the outlines of the many underwater villages and cities, which housed most of the Aquitian race.

not alone in the ships slumberhold. Standing in the doorway was Delphine, and Aquitian like himself. Like all Aquitians, her head expanded into a brownish gold peak, scattered with purple brain cells all around. Unlike humans, Aquitian brains were far less fragile. They had to be, as seventy five percent of the average Aquitian s brain was outside its skull, which did not conceal the entire mind. A good twenty five percent of it actually protruded out the back of an Aquitian s head. Between her eyes was a small white crystal, which was where Aquitian thoughts originated. She wore her usual black and purple tunic, over a white undershirt.

"Beautiful isn t it?" she commented, her eyes focusing on the distant planet of Aquitar.

He looked back to the viewport. "Yes, it is. It is not often that we see it as we do now, from above.

Delphine stood next to her partner in the Aquitar Power Rangers. "Well, the risks of space travel are hardly worth it, don t you agree?"

Aurico nodded. He knew all too well the risks of an Aquitian traveling beyond its natural aquatic environment. Their race relied on clean and clear water from their home planet, and could not survive without it for extended periods of time. Aurico remembered that the longest he had ever gone without Aquitar water was when he and his fellow Rangers had traveled to Earth, a planet only 75% water, to assist Zordon and his Earth Rangers. Using Earth s natural bodies of water, they had been able to re-energize to a certain extent. They had risked their lives to protect a planet they knew very little of, and had no obligation to serve.

But the Aquitians had always been strict believers in the code of peace, and honor. As Power Rangers, it was their duty and responsibility to defend truth, justice, and peace in the universe, not just on their planet, but on all planets, no matter how great the distance. It was a code that Aurico took pride in following. And a code he would be enforcing once again in a short while.

Delphine turned to look at her partner. "You do realize the immense danger this mission puts you in?"

Aurico nodded. "I am aware that there is no hydrogen or oxygen on Earth s moon."

"You will not survive more than twenty four Earth hours."

He frowned at her. "I am aware of the possible consequences of my actions Delphine. Do you oppose my intentions to help defend the Earth against the Machine Empire?"

She shook her head. "No my friend. But we all fear for your safety. We fear you will not return."

"It is my understanding that the Red Zeo Ranger is with them," He replied. "And that he and his partner have prepared adequate hydraulic resources for me on their ship."

She nodded. "Ah yes, the Red Zeo Ranger ..He was once our ally and friend, but that does not alter the hazardous nature of the quest you are about to undertake."

"Then I ask you Delphine," Aurico said. "What would you do, had you been summoned?"

The female Aquitian was silent, thus, submitting her answer.

Suddenly, a bright green light coated the room, taking their attention from the viewport. Puzzled, Aurico s eyes darted in all different directions, searching for the source of the light.

Delpine placed a hand on Aurico s shoulder. "It is a signal from the Cargo Bay. Your Mirinoian ally must be close by."

The two Rangers hastily made their way down a corridor to the Cargo Bay of the Aquilles.

The entrance to the Cargo Bay slid open, revealing a man just a bit shorter than Aurico. His blue eyes perched below mid length sandy colored hair, identified him as a human. He was fairly muscled, though when the Aquitar Rangers had first known him, he had looked much more youthful and developed. He was clad in black tunic, much like the ones the Rangers wore. Around his left wrist he wore a golden wedding band, the trademark symbol of an Aquitian life bond.

He nodded to them. "Hey guys, the Red Galaxy Ranger appears to be in range of our sensors. He should be here shortly."

Aurico nodded. "I m sorry you can t come with me. I know how you must long to see your home planet again after all these years."

The man shrugged. "The important thing is that you stop Serpentera. There s no telling what the Machine Empire will do if they re allowed to use it on Earth. If they succeed, there s no doubt Aquitar will be in danger as well."

"I assure you I will not allow that to happen." He replied.

Together, the three watched the monitor, as the small red dot approaching the ship began to grow larger, and take shape.

"By the way," the man said. "Say hi to Jason and Tommy for me."

Aurico smiled. "I will Billy. I will."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

A/N 1 Power Rangers is owned by Saban Brands this is purely for entertainment value A/N 2 I'd like to take a quick moment to thank everyone who has left reviews and added this to their favorites list. You guys seriously make this worth doing

Tommy took one final look across the bridge of the Astro Megaship Mark II, at the men he would soon be rushing into battle with. The men with whom he had nothing in common, except one incredible responsibility.

He nodded to Andros.

"D.E.C.A.," the Kerovan called out. "Initiate cloaking device."

Alpha 7, standing at the bridge s defense consol, tapped a few buttons. Seconds later, all eight men felt the ground under their feet vibrate a bit. The android turned to Andros. "Cloaking shield activated."

"Good." Andros replied. "Now, begin the landing cycle."

Tommy felt his stomach turn a bit as the Megaship s thrusters kicked in. The vessel tipped, and the moon began to race up toward the viewport as they began to make their descent toward Earth.

Carter looked to Andros. "How far is the landing site from the actual moon base?"

"About two miles." Andros replied. "We ll have to take the Galaxy Gliders."

Jason frowned. "What s a Galaxy Glider?"

"Only the gride of your life." T.J. replied with a grin.

The eight Rangers watched the rocky, cratered surface of the moon engulf the viewport. There was a loud clanging sound as the Megaship s legs kicked in, and the thrusters began to slowly die.

"This is it boys." Jason announced, making his way toward the door. "Everybody ready?"

Carter nodded. "Lets do it."

"I m ready." Wes replied.

"Lets recycle these cans." Eric remarked.

"Looks like it s back to action." T.J. commented, smiling.

Cole s mind raced for a witty comment. "Uhhhh .cowabunga my homies!"

All eyes turned to the Red Wild Force Ranger. Cole blushed. That was the last time he d ever steal a line from Max

The eight mean started for the ship s entrance ramp. "D.E.C.A.," Andros called out. "Activate oxygen field."

Wes looked back at the Kerovan. "Oxygen field?"

Andros looked at his teammate. "There s no oxygen in space Wes."

The Red Time Force Ranger rolled his eyes. "I know that.

T.J. patted Wes on the shoulder, smiling. "The oxygen field is basically a three mile wide energy bubble that provides humans with a suitable living environment, by inserting fresh oxygen into the atmosphere."

Cole frowned. "But doesn t that pollute the planet s natural environment?"

The other man opened his mouth to reply, but stopped, and seemed to think for a moment. He looked at Andros. "I guess we never really thought about that did we?"

Andros ignored T.J. s comment, as they reached the door to the entrance ramp. At the foot of the door, six multicolored boards hovored at ankle level. Andros pressed the release button on the door, causing a loud hiss as the fresh air from the oxygen field invaded the ship.

The Kerovan placed his foot on the red board. "These are the Galaxy Gliders. They re powered by small jets on the underside."

He noticed some reluctant looks among the team. "I assure you, they re perfectly safe."

Cole raised his hand. "Ummm, I noticed that there are only six."

Andros nodded. "Yes, two of you will have to share gliders."

At those words, Tommy, Carter, Jason, Eric, and T.J. raced to hop on to a Galaxy Glider, leaving Wes and Cole the odd men out.

Eric laughed out loud at his partner. "Sorry rich boy. Gotta be quick on your feet."

"Oh really?" Wes replied, cocking his eyebrows. "Well Eric, I have to say, pink is definitely your color."

Eric looked down to see he was on the Pink Galaxy Glider. "Shut up Collins." He muttered.

As Wes attempted to climb on to the Glider with Eric, Tommy noticed Cole standing nervously alone, like a child left from a game of kickball. The veteran Ranger suddenly felt guilty, and sympathized with the team s youngest member. His mind clicked back to Jason telling him how strange Cole was. Truth be told, Cole did seem to stand out amongst the other Rangers.

But then again, maybe that was what made him special.

Tommy elbowed Jason. "Hey bro," he whispered above the Silver Guardians. "How bout you let Cole ride with you?"

Jason looked surprised. "What? Why me?"

"Because man," he replied. "He needs a friend on this team. And it s pretty obvious he looks up to you."

He rolled his eyes.

"C mon dude, he doesn t need that hanging over his head out there. We all need to be able to trust eachother."

The other man sighed. "This veteran Ranger thing really sucks sometimes, you know that?"

"Hey, put yourself in his position. Wouldn t you want somebody to watch out for you?"

Jason reluctantly nodded, and looked back at Cole. "Hey rookie," he called, getting the younger man s attention. "Hop on."

Suddenly, Cole was a toddler on Christmas morning. His eyes widened, and he grinned an ecstatic grin. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, come on."

Cole walked behind his teammate s glider, and looked down. "Ummm, how do I do this?"

"Just put your feet behind mine."

The young man placed his hands on Jason s waste for balance.

Jason looked back at Cole. "Watch your hands rookie."

Cole blushed. "Sorry." He put his left foot behind Jason s. Both men felt the glider wobble beneath them. But nevertheless, Cole pulled his right foot up.

"Wait Cole!" Jason cried. "Stop!"

The other Rangers couldn t help but laugh as the Galaxy Glider flipped on it s top, sending both Jason and Cole tumbling into Carter, who fell down as well.

Though still sympathetic, Tommy couldn t help but smile as the three Rangers lay piled atop one another on the floor.

The wind rushed through Andros duel colored hair as he whizzed through the oxygen field on his Galaxy Glider. Butterflies flapped against the edges of his belly as they grew closer to the moon base.

He looked down at his Astro Morpher. It wouldn t be long now .

Andros could hear the hum of T.J. s old blue glider behind his. Since their talk, the Kerovan had barely spoken to, or even looked at his former partner at all. After the emotional breakdown he d had earlier, the last thing he wanted to be reminded of was Ashley, or the any of other Lightstar Rangers for that matter. His mind needed to be calm, and at peace. The matters at hand were far too important for him to let his personal life get in the way.

How fitting though, that this would be on his mind as General Steelon, the android who had perpetrated the unspeakable act in the first place, loomed just over the horizon. Andros certainly hadn t forgotten. His thoughts had been so focused on seeing T.J. again, that facing Steelon again had nearly recessed into the back of his mind. But it was better that way. Better that it didn t sit and boil in his thoughts the entire time.

But this was the moment he d been waiting nearly four years for. To isolate Steelon, and make him pay. Make him pay for crippling the woman he loved, and forcing him to abandon all he held dear to him.

Andros blood began to bubble. Steelon knew nothing of true pain, or heart breaking loss. Nor was he designed to. He was simply a stone cold mechanical killer, who knew nothing of a living heart or soul. He d done what he d done to Ashley, not out of rage or anger, but simply because he was programmed to. Ashley had been payalyzed by a machine.

It was all so unfair. Andros had never even seen Ashley do any of the cheerleading steps she d always told him about. He wasn t able to dance with her at the senior prom she sometimes mentioned to him. One night he even told her he d show her some of the Kerovan combat arts he d learned.

But now it was impossible. And it was his fault.

It was all his fault.

Andros gritted his teeth, only hoping that Steelon still had that hammer. The first chance he got, he would smash the weapon over the mindless cranium of that robotic infidel. He would scatter its insides all across the moon, and then burn what was left. Or maybe he d keep Steelon s head, and stick it in his room, to remind him of his victory. That would make the pain go away. It had to.

Suddenly, Andros looked to his right, catching T.J. looking at him.. It would all be over soon

It was all his fault ..

For a full second, Tommy closed his eyes, and concentrated on the feeling the wind blow across his cheeks. It was like he was flying. He was like a child on a roller coaster, or a kid in a candy store.

Or a maybe a high school teenager blessed with super powers.

Tommy Oliver never thought he would be that boy again. That same teenager who instead of taking his girlfriend to movies, battled alongside the Pink Ranger against one of Rita s monsters. Instead of test anxiety, he would lie awake at night, wondering about Lord Zedd or King Mondo s next attack. As opposed to sorrow over lost girlfriends, he d felt sorrow over lost Green Ranger powers. Once again, the world was his stage, the world was his burden. The boy, the youthful, ambitious Power Ranger was back. And he was loving every minute of it.

He only wondered if the others were feeling as a live as he was. Particularly Jason, who didn t have a pleasant look on his face as Cole s arms remained wrapped around his waist. The young man was simply trying to hang on, but the original Red Ranger looked as if he d be content with shooting his elbow back, and knocking the Wild Force Ranger into the dust. But he wouldn t, Tommy knew. Jason was a class act, and would do the right thing.

He glanced over his left shoulder at Carter, who he had been extremely flattered to meet earlier. Apparently, the Red Lightspeed Ranger had emulated him during his time as an active Ranger. He had nothing but wonderful, and gracious things to say to Tommy back on the Megaship. He d never in his wildest dreams thought that another Power Ranger would come to emulate the work he had done. It was truly humbling.

Then, Carter called something out to Tommy. Over the hum of the Galaxy Gliders, the veteran Ranger could make it out. He cupped his hand to his ear, motioning for Carter to repeat it.

"Tommy! Watch out!"

His eyes darted to the path in front of him, but it was too late. The wind wheezed from his lungs as the swung his staff into his stomach. The black Galaxy Glider flew out from under his feet, Tommy s his forward momentum was abruptly cut off. Curled into a ball, his body slapped the ground in a cloud of dust, coughing and wheezing.

He heard Jason shout his name, as his eyes, tearing from the dust, looked up. Staring down at him were a group of golden domed heads. Their lifeless expressions would be cold, evil, and frightening to the untrained eye.

But his eyes were trained considerably the sight of these mechanical muggers. He knew the Cogs, the Machine Empire s robotic soldiers, all too well.

As Tommy found his wind again, inhaling the dust and grime from the ground, he could just faintly hear the hum of the other Galaxy Gliders turning around.

But as one of the Cogs raised their weapons to the air, he realized that they would never make it in time 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

What a way to go, Tommy thought to himself, as one of the Cogs above him raised his staff above his head, preparing to deliver a crushing blow, presumably intended to crush his skull. After all the monsters he d destroyed, all the villains he d defeated, all the nameless lackey s he d cast aside in the name of justice, he was about to meet his end at the hand of a Cog.

Suddenly, his ears were invaded by the sound of a small explosion from above. One of the soldiers collapsed at his side, as the others raised their weapons in attack position. Tommy looked over at the wounded Cog to see a small burn etched in it s back.

But before the veteran Ranger could rise to his feet, his air was cut off yet again by the butt of a staff, which was abruptly jammed into his throat. Tommy wrapped his hands around the Cog s weapon, trying to break the hold. But it was no use, as black spots started to appear in hiss vision, as his resistance began to dwindle .

"Tommy!" Jason s voice called out. Moments later, he just barely made out the form of his close friend flying off his Galaxy Glider, executing a flying kick into his attacker, just as everything started to go blurry.

Moments later, Tommy opened his eyes to see Carter s face above him. In his hands he gripped his red Rescue Blaster. "Tommy, are you alright?"

Weakly, he nodded, as Carter helped him into a sitting position. "Sit tight, I ll cover you." As Tommy s eyes focused again, he was greeted by the sight of a battle spread out before him.

He saw Eric block a right hand from a Cog, and then kick the staff from the soldier s left hand. The Quantum Ranger then whipped the Cog over his shoulder by his arm. As a second attacker approached, Eric shot a stiff left front kick toward the Cog s torso. The robotic soldier blocked it, holding the Ranger s foot in its grasp. But Eric countered by kicking off on his right foot, and swinging it up to knock the Cog in its golden domed cranium. The Quantum Ranger then somersaulted between another Cog s legs, and kipped up. A tornado kick finished off the third robot.

Meanwhile, Cole struggled to hold up a Cog s staff as the robotic soldier pushed it down against him. His muscles began to quiver as his strength stared to fail. Suddenly, he gave in to the robot s power, and let the staff take him down. But Cole kept his feet up, and catapulted the Cog through the air. The Cog s grip broke, and Cole now held the weapon in his own hands. The Red Wild Force Ranger twirled it through the air, before hammering it into the Cog s torso, and then executing an axe kick that finished the robot off.

As two of them came at him from opposite sides, Jason leapt into a split kick that knocked them both to the ground. As another swung it s staff at his skull, Jason ducked, and hit a Sweep Kick that tripped his opponent. But the robot twirled up and charged at him again, staff in hand. The original Red Ranger was ready however, and grabbed the Cog s weapon. The robotic soldier made a loud squealing sound as Jason flipped his opponent over his head by the staff. The loud sound of steel against stone echoed through the air as the Cog hit the ground hard.

T.J. ducked an overhead swinging kick and then hit a loud punch into his opponent s face, knocking the android to the ground. Then, as another Cog swung a punch from his left, the Red Turbo Ranger blocked the shot, and took the robot down with an armbar. He caught sight of another Cog swinging down with his staff just in time to avoid the blow. The staff collided with the body of his previous attacker, as T.J. did a Sweep Kick that took down the staff wielding attacker. He then hit a hard blow to the Cog s torso, silencing it.

As two of the robotic soldiers approached Carter, who was still guarding the fallen Tommy, the Lightspeed Ranger sprayed one of them with laser fire from his Rescue Blaster. The other Cog quickly did a backflip and catapulted itself into the air, for a flying kick. Carter dove over Tommy s body, in protection of his partner and idol. The Cog flew over the two Rangers, and then grabbed Carter by his jacket. The android tossed the young man aside, and turned to Tommy ..

The veteran Ranger stretched his arms out, revealing Carter s Rescue Blaster in his hands. He aimed and fired at the Cog, hitting it directly in the chest.

At the sudden sound of silence, the Rangers relaxed their bodies. Scanning the area, the rocky surface of the moon was now littered with the bodies of lifeless Cogs.

Tommy pushed himself up from the ground, and tossed Carter his blaster. "Good thinking" he said, dusting himself off.

He nodded. "Thanks."

"What was that about?" asked Wes. "We re still a good distance from the moon base aren t we?"

Andros nodded. "Venjix must have deployed search parties once his trackers picked up a cloaked signal."

"You think there ll be any more?" Eric asked.

"Maybe," the Kerovan replied. "Keep your eyes open."

The Rangers started for their Galaxy Gliders, which had now been scattered across the landscape.

"Leave the Gliders," Andros called. "We ll go on foot from here."

"On foot?" Cole repeated, surprised.

He nodded. "Their audio receptors might pick up the sound of the jets from a distance. If we go on foot, we might still be able to keep the element of surprise on our side. It s only about a half mile from here. We can make it."

"Okay then," Tommy nodded. "Let s go."

Leaving the Galaxy Gliders behind, the eight men started in the direction of the Machine Empire s moon base. Breathing in the oxygen from the tampered atmosphere, and listening to the moon rocks crunching under their boots .

Reaching up to press a button on his headcover, General Venjix checked his chronolizer.

In precisely seventy minutes and counting, the time would come.

His optical revisors watched as the Cogs hurried along to make the final adjustment to Serpentera. The Zord, after being cleaned up, had been fitted with a Machine Empire insignia between its blazing red eyes. The logo had also been freshly painted on Serpentera s port and starboard sides. Venjix wanted assurance that the universe would know it was he and the resurrected Machine Empire behind the invasion of Earth, not some pathetic Lord Zedd follower, or perhaps Zedd s son.

The robot checked its memory banks. Did Lord Zedd even have a son?

That was another thing that singed his circuits. The living were sad and pathetic enough already, but the idea that they would all eventually reproduce, and make even more disgusting vermin was simply replulsive! Venjix loathed children, so small, so annoying, so foolhardy. He at one point had considered enslaving Earth s children, as he would the adults. But alas, they would all be too weak and na ve to do him any good.

He d just have to kill them all.

Venjix heard a set of footsteps coming up from behind him. "General Venjix," Gerrok said. "Installation of the Neo-Plutonium reactor to Serpentera is complete. Only a few minor adjustments, and the Zord will be yours to command."

The evil general pounded a metallic fist into his palm. "Excellent." He growled. "No planet shall dare oppose the Machine Empire now, lest they feel the wrath of Serpentera!"

At the sound of silence, Venjix turned to his fellow General. "Have you nothing to say Gerrok?"

The green robot bowed its pincher peaked head. "General, if I may voice a concern ?"

The evil General nodded affirmatively.

"Sir, I trust you ve given consideration to the possibility of the Power Rangers interfering in your path of destruction?"

Venjix s gears grinded, as he turned away from Gerrok. Power Rangers, they were everything he had been built to oppose. They were defenders of the living, and the opposition to evil. It had been their kind that had taken King Mondo from his rightful place at the throne of the Machine Empire. They were a smudge in his perfectly painted vision of reality. Even a casual mentioning of them tended to send Venjix into an unrelenting rage.

But the robotic General held in the anger boiling in his emotion chip. "Indeed, Earth has always been a planet defended by righteous individuals."

Venjix clenched his fists. "Righteous, but foolish."

"Even Earth s precious Power Rangers cannot save them now. Serpentera s new Neo Plutonium Reactor gives it a supremacy that no band of ambitious fools could ever hope to defeat."

The evil General turned to look at Gerrok. "The abolishment of man is inevitable Gerrok. In a matter of hours, Earth as the humans know it will be a memory .."  
> <p>


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Peeking over the top of one of the moon s rock-strewn hills, Tommy, Andros, Cole, Jason, Carter, Wes, Eric, and T.J. gazed down at the Machine Empire s moon facility.

Or rather, the massive creature spread out behind the moon facility, eclipsing the distant landscape.

The Rangers all recognized the dark, menacing form of Serpentera from the holo projection they had been shown earlier. What they hadn t anticipated, was just how big the creature would be in person. It s body stretched out as far as the eye could see, entirely eclipsing the horizon. For a moment, the Rangers eyes remained focused on the monster s head. It was as if a small slice of hell had been captured, and placed on to the neck of the mighty serpent. The Zords horns, protruding from its scalp and nostril areas respectively, made it an eerie, frightening sight. It s teeth and jaw look as if they were poised to prey on an innocent, defenseless young animal. Even when silent, when it s empty yet fearsome eyes looked into theirs, it was as if they had become little boys again, frightened by the thought of a flesh eating beast in their closet.

But this time, the monster was very real, and much larger than their childish minds had pictured it.

"My god ." Was all Wes could say. "That s what we re up against?"

Andros nodded. "Yes ..that s it."

For a moment, the eight men were silent, their minds absorbing, and their bones resisting the chill.

Suddenly, Eric snorted. "Eh, my Q-Rex could eat that thing as a side dish."

"Yeah," T.J. replied, eyeing his teammate. "If it doesn t get stepped on first."

Eric glared at T.J.. Though they had all secretly appreciated the comic relief.

Tommy noticed the Machine Empire insignia painted between Serpentera s eyes, as well as on its side. Venjix s own personal signature no doubt.

"Let s just focus on getting inside." He announced. "Hopefully, that thing will never leave the moon."

The other Rangers nodded in agreement, and focused on the moon base, which when compared to Serpentera, was nearly unnoticeable.. The building resembled a small factory. It was colored a dull gray, almost blending into its surroundings. The roof, as well as the sills for the buildings two windows, were a bright yellow. No doors were visible from the Rangers viewpoint. The only accessible entrance appeared to be a long ventilation shaft extending up from the ground, into the roof of the building. The eight men put their respective guards up at the sight of two familiar figures standing motionless in front of the base.

"You know," Eric whispered, motioning toward the two Cogs, swords in hands. "Are those things supposed to be ugly?"

Jason shrugged. "I always wondered that myself."

Suddenly, the two androids posture shifted as they started up, and proceeded to scan the area. The eight men quickly ducked down behind the rocks.

"Looks like that exhaust shaft is the only way in from here." Andros whispered.

"We could try going around," T.J. suggested. "We might find an easier way in."

Tommy shook his head. "No, it s best that we don t risk attracting attention. Plus, this ventilation shaft will give us some subtlety going in."

"But how do we get past the Cogs?" Carter asked.

"I ll handle that." Tommy replied. He looked to T.J. and Cole. "I ll need some help though."

Cole gave the leader a surprised look. "Me?"

Tommy nodded, ignoring the look of subtle reluctance from Jason.

Moments later, Tommy made his way down the hill to the left, while T.J. and Cole moved to the right. Once the three Rangers were all a good distance from the others, Cole stopped, and let T.J. keep moving.

Suddenly, Cole popped up. "Hey! Tin heads! You guys ..um ..you ..you guys aren t real you re not good looking!"

As the other Rangers rolled their eyes, the Cogs proceeded to charge Cole. Then, on cue, Tommy and T.J. leapt out from their respective hiding places, and proceeded to charge the Cogs from the sides. But the time the cybernetic soldiers noticed the presence of their new attackers, it was too late.

T.J. did two back flips and jump kicked one of the Cogs in its golden domed head. There was a loud creaking sound as the robot s neck loosened.

Tommy charged at the opposite Cog, and executed a scissors kick to its knees, taking the soldier down in it s front. He then proceeded to smash the back of its head with a stiff heel kick.

The others came out from behind the hill as Tommy and T.J. rose to their feet.

"That ll teach you to ruin my ride." Tommy remarked.

Eric shook his head. "Cole, I already said they were ugly. Next time use your own material."

The Rangers laughed at Cole, whose shoulders sank a bit.

Suddenly, the stillness was pierced by the wailing of an alarm. The eight men covered their ears, as they suddenly realized that they had done.

Andros quickly proceeded to shove his teammates toward the opening to the exhaust shaft. Jason, and Tommy were the first inside, followed quickly by T.J., Wes, Cole, and Eric.

Suddenly, five Cogs rounded the corner of the building. Andros nodded to Carter, who quickly drew his Rescue Blaster, and shot down three of the robotic soldiers, as Andros dove into the opening himself. The final two Cogs went down as Carter himself rounded out the team.

Just as the Lightspeed Ranger pulled his shoes into the ventilation shaft, he heard a sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"What in the maker s name? What happened here? Who in the blazes?"

Andros looked up the shaft to his fellow teammates. "Tezzla." He mouthed silently to them.

For a moment, rubble rustled under the robotic boots of the evil General, as the Rangers, blinded by their own hiding, listened to her scan the area. At the tail end of the opening, Carter clenched his Rescue Blaster, aiming outward, preparing to fire ..

Suddenly, Tezzla stopped. "Whoever you are, you ve no hope of stopping us!" she shrieked. "No opposition has even the slightest chance of defeating the Machine Empire! You will never be the heroes you ve set out to be!"

There was a faint sound of steel grinding against steel. "In fact, you ll most likely end up in one of my torture chambers."

With that, loud footsteps faded into the distance as Tezzla left her fallen soldiers at the battle scene.

The Rangers all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Dude," Wes whispered. "This is tense."

"They must have picked us up on their audio receptors." Andros spoke softly, yet just loud enough for them to hear. "Either that, or we must have tripped some sort of motion sensor."

"What now?" Wes asked.

"We move." Jason announced from the head of the group. "Keep it down back there. ." With that, the eight men proceeded to climb through the ventilation shaft, giving their best attempt at ignoring the rank, musty smell that inhabited their surroundings.

As the Rangers crawled through the dirty, dusty shaft, the sounds of clanking machinery could be heard through the metal. The humming and buzzing noises made by the Cogs were loud, and irritating. Occasionally there would be a loud bang. No doubt the Machine Empire was operating some sort of machinery to refine Serpentera even more.

They were truly within the belly of the beast.

Suddenly, the sound of a door slamming against the wall echoed throughout the moon base. "Automon!" the Rangers recognized the voice of Tezzla.

Seconds later, a male-programmed voice answered. "What is it Tezzla?"

"Silence!" Tezzla bellowed, as the eight men continued to crawl. "We have intruders somewhere on the base!"

"What? Impossible! The Cogs would have put a stop to whomever-"

"You hollow headed waste disposer! The Cogs are hardly indestructible!" she shrieked. "I warned Venjix that they would not be enough to thwart the possibility of an ambush! Now our entire operation is at risk!"

Suddenly, a loud banging sound echoed through the shaft. The Rangers looked to see Cole lying on his face.

"What was that?" Automon demanded.

The eight men froze, not daring to move a muscle.

The Cogs simply made their trademark buzzing sounds in response.

There was a loud sound of steel hitting against steel. One of the Cogs made a loud screeching sound. "Well find out you rusty piece of refuse! Find out now!"

Metal feet shuffled along the cement floor of the moon base, as the Rangers all glared at Cole.

How could anyone trip while on their hands and knees?

"You re right." Automon said. "Our operation is no longer safe here. We must inform General Venjix!"

The voices of the two robotic generals faded into the distance, as the Rangers continued to make their way upward, through the ventilation shaft.

At the sound of a light knock on the metal wall from Andros, the eight men stopped to look back at him.

"This feels like a good altitude." He whispered. "It s just high enough so that they won t notice the ventilation leak until it s too late."

Eric looked back at the Kerovan. "So now what Mister Spock? Call the Fire Department to get us out of here?"

Ignoring Eric s snide remark, Andros reached into his belt, and pulled out a think cylinder, just thick enough to resemble a pen. A small red button stood out on it s lower half. He handed it to Eric to pass up to Jason.

"What s this?" the head of the line asked.

"Press the button." Andros replied. "And whatever you do, don t point it at anyone."

Jason aimed the device at the wall of the shaft, and pressed the button. Instantly, a thin red beam shot out, and shined against the wall.

Cole s eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I ve seen those! I think Danny and Max got kicked out of a rock concert once for having one of them."

Suddenly, the metal wall of the shaft began to slowly melt away, as a thin line of smoke started began to fill the air.

T.J. looked back at Cole. "No wonder."

"Melt a hole just large enough for us to fit through." Andros said. "I recognize the style of architecture that this base was built with. It s an older style. Most of these buildings have interwining steel support beams just under the roof. If I m right about this, then we can make our way across them, and launch our surprise attack."

"But what if you re wrong?" Carter asked from behind him.

Andros didn t answer. The team simply waited in silence for Jason to complete his work.

Eventually, the original Red Ranger was able to melt a rectangular outline into the metal wall. The smoke was becoming thicker now, as Jason prepared to close the shape of the exit.

"Be careful bro." Tommy warned. "You want to make sure that thing doesn t-"

Before Tommy could finish, Jason s entire upper half reached out the newly created exit to catch the falling piece of metal. But the veteran Ranger saw his balance slip out from under him, and leapt forward to grab his legs.

Outside the shaft, Jason dangled desperately, the piece of metal in his hands. His eyes widened, as the cement floor below him seemed miles away. As his mind raced with fear, he could see that the Cogs had not noticed him. He bit his tongue, holding back a scream.

"Help!" Tommy forced himself to choke out as quietly as he could, as he tried desperately to hold on to Jason s jeans to prevent him from slipping. T.J. quickly grabbed onto Tommy s legs, and with Wes gripping his own waist, the three men proceeded to pull. The very fabric of their muscles threatened to tear as they applied all their strength.

Behind them, the remaining four Rangers breathed a sigh of relief as Jason reappeared in the ventilation shaft with them, the metal fragment in his hand. Sweat glistened on his forehead.

He slapped hands with Tommy. "Thanks bro." He said. "I owe you one."

Tommy let out a small chuckle as he caught his breath. "I think we re getting a little too old for this stuff."

The two veteran Rangers looked down through the small hole in the ventilation shaft. They watched the Cogs work tirelessly at large benches, as well as along the edges of a long conveyor belt stretching across the moon base. They appeared to be constructing different weapons. As Jason glanced down at the conveyor belt, he noticed various styles of swords, shields, guns, staffs, even nunchukus.

He watched as one of the robotic soldiers picked up a large blaster from the conveyor belt, and fired it into the distance. The result was a loud explosion, which explained the loud bangs they had heard earlier. Jason guessed that they must have been firing at some sort of test dummy.

Evidently, the Machine Empire wasn t playing around.

T.J. tapped Tommy on the shoulder. "Hey, what s the hold up? Are the support beams out there or what?"

Tommy and Jason looked straight ahead to see a complication both horizontal and vertical steel support beams stretched out before them. Andros had been right.

Jason nodded to the others. "I ll head out first. Remember boys, noise is death."

Eric tapped Cole on the shoulder "That goes double for you wild thing."

As the eight men proceeded to exit the ventilation shaft ever so carefully, their lives depending on the live preserving silence, the entrance doors slammed against the wall yet again. The conveyor belt instantly stopped moving, and the Cogs instantly flocked toward the entrance.

Looking down below, the eight men could barely tell what was happening amongst the commotion, but could just barely make out two human forms among mechanical masses.

They recognized General Venjix, as he grasped one of them by the shirt with his mighty robotic fist. "So, the two of you thought you could eliminate the Machine Empire all alone did you?" his deep mechanical voice bellowed. "How incredibly noble."

"Yet incredibly foolish!" Gerrok shouted, the sound of his voice modulator echoing throughout the moon base.

Venjix dragged the human, a young man with dark hair, being held by his red tank top, over which he wore a blue button down shirt, almost directly under the Rangers. He held up up by his clothes, and then slapped him down to the cement floor, the sound of bone on concrete bringing a chill to the Rangers spine.

The evil General kicked the young man in the stomach, and then pushed him up against one of the moon bases pillars. He gestured with his now free right hand. The robotic soldiers instantly pulled the human s hands behind the pillar, and locked on a pair of binders.

"Young fool." Venjix said, shaking his tentacled head. "If it were not for your immense inferiority, and downright idiotic attempt at an attack, I would admire your bravery."

"You ll never take the Earth!" a determined, yet familiar voice shouted back.

Andros saw Carter s eyes on his body, but he did not return the gesture. Indeed, it was Leo Corbett, the Red Galaxy Ranger, and the man he d summoned from Mirinoi. They had met just before Steelon had crippled Ashley.

"Even Serpentera won t be enough! Leo continued. "You can t-"

The Ranger s cringed, as Venjix jammed his metallic boot into Leo s throat. The young man coughed and gagged, choking for air, as the robotic General silenced him.

Venjix looked to Gerrok. "Where is the other one?"

Gerrok motioned to Steelon, who alongside Tezzla and Automon, dragged the second prisoner over to their leader. They had been wrong upon first glance. He was not human, he only looked so from a distance. His lumpy gold and purple cranium identified him as an Aquitian. He wore a black tunic.

Aurico, the Red Aquitar Ranger.

As the Cogs cuffed the Aquitian to the pillar alongside Leo, Venjix looked to Steelon. "Where did you say you found them?"

"The Cogs had spotted them approaching on some sort of jet powered cart." Steelon replied. "They were in Power Ranger form when we shot them down, but obviously the impact robbed them of their protection."

The blue and silver robot handed his leader a small device, and gestured to Leo. "A wrist device of some sort. More than likely it assists him in transforming into a Power Ranger."

From high above, Andros blood suddenly felt icy cold. Steelon was just as he remembered him in his nightmares. That same hellish mechanical face, that same blue color, that same bone chilling voice

Venjix bent down, and grasped Aurico s chin, forcing a growl from the Aquitian. "Well isn t that a shame ." The robot said softly. "No powers to save you now ."

What happens to us is irrelevant." Aurico replied. "This attack on on Earth will gain you nothing. The rest of the universe will discover your deeds, and destroy you!"

"That is " Leo coughed, "If we don t destroy you first."

Suddenly, Steelon held out his right hand. Crackling with blue electricity, a large blue hammer materialized in his grasp.

Andros gripped the steel support beam a bit harder. That was the hammer. The same hammer that had destroyed his entire life ..

Steelon raised the hammer in the air, preparing to strike the fallen Leo, but Venjix held out his hand, restraining his fellow general from attacking.

Venjix clenched his metallic fist. "But I am now in command of the most dominant force the universe has ever seen. No world has any hope of stopping the almighty Serpentera.

" Tis a pity that you come from such a useless planet as Aquitar, my fishy friend. Water is such a useless poison. I shall make a note to obliterate anything even remotely aquatic upon my triumph.

Venjix s dark optical modifiers glared into the eyes of the Aquitian. "And I shall start with Aquitar."

From high above, Andros could feel the anger pent up inside his fellow teammates. But little did they know of the tsunami of rage and agony that was slowly beginning to consume him, as his eyes remained in a deadly trance around Steelon. All he could think of now was Ashley .

"You re overestimating your powers Venjix." Leo growled. "Even Serpentera isn t indestructible. Eventually, your ultimate weapon won t be so ultimate anymore."

Venjix stood up, and looked down at Leo. In his hand he grasped Leo s morpher. "Tell me something young vermin ." The evil General said. "This device, it s markings match that of an ancient Mirinoian culture. I believe they once told a legend of five legendary Quasar Sabers, did they not?"

Leo remained silent, his eyes a raging fire.

"Tell me .what s it like on Mirinoi now?"

The young man grinded his teeth. "I swear to god I ll-"

"You ll what?" the robot bellowed. "You ll send your little slave driver colony after us? Hah! You think yourself to be such a hero, just because you wear a little wrist morpher, and can change into a pretty costume. It s pathetic!"

The robot bent down, and held its tentacled head close to Leo s. "Deep down inside your human heart, you know that you and you Terra Venture colonists are no different than the Machine Empire. You invaded Mirinoi, with every intent to conquer, and mold it into your own vision of a perfect world!"

"No!" Leo shouted in the evil General s face. "That s not true!"

"Isn t it though? Is your colony not about to face a state of war against the Mirinoi people? Are you not all about to destroy each other, simply due to the fact that you couldn t live together in harmony as one peaceful society, as opposed to two groups with two entirely different visions?"

Andros began to sweat. He wasn t even hearing what Venjix was saying to Leo.

He only heard what his aching mind and heart were telling him.

"Was it not you who failed to save the woman you loved?" Venjix was saying to him. "Was it not you who abandoned her on Earth, so that you could hunt us down and pursue your own sick quest for vengeance? But now, what you have to ask yourself is this: Do you have the guts to go through with it? I know you ve been waiting for it for years .

"But now, you re just going to fail her all over again aren t you? You ll fail her, your teammates, and everything you ve ever stood for in your sick, pathetic existance!"

Down below, General Venjix rose to his feet. "You Terra Venture bigots are the perfect example of why humans must be destroyed. A colony of robots could have adjusted, could have lived in peace on Mirinoi. But instead, you humans have proven yourselves to be the true forces of evil."

"Nooo!" Leo screamed. "You bastard!"

Andros felt T.J. s eyes on him. "Andros?" he whispered. "Are you alright?"

Once again, Venjix jammed his boot into Leo s throat. "Unfortunately, with the enslavement of Earth mere moments away, we have no use for you vermin on our moonbase.

"Steelon, do what you will with them."

The blue and silver robot stepped above Leo, his shoulder joints creaking as his arms raised the hammer above his head .

"No T.J.," Andros replied. "I m not."

With that, the Kerovan released the steel beam, and let himself go. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Andros! No!" T.J. shouted.

At the sound of T.J. s voice, the five Generals and their henchmen looked to the roof. At the sight of the eight new intruders, the Cogs instantly rushed for the dormant weapons on the conveyor belt. A storm of laser fire engulfed the room as they aimed toward the humans and fired.

But the Red Lightstar Ranger heard nothing, as gravity guided his body down toward Steelon s. He was no longer inside the moon base. His psyche had warped him into a vortex of blackness, created by his own anger, hatred, and bitterness.

There was a loud clanging sound as Andros landed atop Steelon. As the Kerovan and the android collapsed to the ground, the hammer flew through the air, landing near a group of wooden crates.

"Jump!" Jason called, trying desperately to avoid being pierced by laser fire. At his call, he, Tommy, T.J., Carter, Wes, Eric, and Cole let go of their respective places from above, and began their descent to the ground.

Jason kicked off his steel footing, executing a series flip in mid air, to land perfectly on his feet.

Tommy did a forward somersault through the air, and landed atop one of a crate. Feeling the wood give a bit under his weight, he quickly leapt off, and side kicked a Cog in mid air.

T.J. simply let his body soar through the air, as he kicked off toward an unarmed Cog. Just like his former Lightstar Ranger partner, T.J. landed with a clang atop the steel body. A quick punch in the robot s lifeless face silenced it.

As he jumped, Carter aimed his Rescue Blaster at the five generals, and sprayed them with some laser fire of his own. The evil robots scattered, leaving Leo and Aurico undefended as he landed.

Wes bent backward, and hooked his knees onto his steel footing, letting himself hang for a split second before releasing his weight, and back flipping on to the cement floor.

Eric leapt the steel, but let his body fall backward in mid air. Catching sight of a Cog, he twirled his body counterclockwise, and made contact with the steel soldier, letting his opponent take the entire force of his fall. Eric landed lightly on his elbows, but then quickly kipped up.

Remembering his old tree swinging techniques, Cole leapt from one steel beam to the next, until finally leaping into the air. Kicking off the pillar, which held the restrained Leo and Aurico, the Red Wild Force Ranger back flipped, and landed next to Carter.

In a blinding rage, Andros simply threw fists of fury into the lifeless face of Steelon. After landing a perfect blow to the robot s optical modifier, cracking it, the Kerovan felt Gerrok grab him by the back of his coat, and hurl him off the fellow general. Andros landed hard on the cement floor, but was prepared to launch himself into a second attack

..until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Looking behind him, Andros saw the comforting, calming expression of his partner Tommy, restraining him from battle. Andros breathed a relaxing sigh, once again forcing himself to bottle up his anger. He stared a hole through Steelon .

Once again, Venjix gestured with his right hand. On command, the Cogs instantly rallied behind him, like dogs answering their master s call. "What s this?" the evil general demanded. "More vermin?"

"More intruders?" Gerrok shouted, as he assisted Steelon to his feet.

"Impossible!" Tezzla shrieked. "I don t believe it!"

Tommy smiled. "Believe it." He said, with a confident calmness, the heat of battle burning within him, as he clenched his fists. He hadn t felt that burn in a long time.

"You know," Jason said. "If you miss King Mondo that much, we ll be happy to help you join him in the scrap heap."

Cole shot a finger at his opponents. "We re not going to let you bring back Serpentera!"

Venjix crossed his mechanical arms. "Inconceivable. How many heroes does that pathetic planet have?"

"More than you can handle, I assure you." T.J. cried.

"So back down Venjix!" Wes ordered. "Before you and what s left of your empire are destroyed."

The evil general motioned to the Cogs behind him. "You humans obviously haven t mastered basic arithmetic. My Cogs outnumber you far too greatly. It would be much wiser for you yourselves to back down."

Tommy shook his head. "Sorry rusty, that s not in our job description."

The evil general s head bowed a bit, as if accepting Tommy s answer. "Have it your way then. The abolishment of the human race begins with the ten of you."

Venjix shot his robotic finger forward toward the Rangers. "Cogs! To battle! Bring me their cold hearts on silver platters!"

At Venjix s command, the Cogs charged weapons in arms, prepared to do as they were built to, fight at the will of their master.

But the eight humans showed no fear, charging forward into the fray of machinery, prepared to fight to the death for their cause. A cause called virtue, the cause called justice.

A cause called life.

Faced with three mechanical attackers, T.J. ducked underneath an overhand blow, and kicked the first Cog to the ground. Blocking a punch, from the second, the Red Turbo Ranger delivered a right hand of his own directly into the torso of the robot, sending it flailing backward. At the sight of a kick, T.J. grasped the steel leg in his mighty grip, and ducking into a Sweep Kick that took his opponent s footing. He quickly followed up with a chop to the robot s throat, silencing it. But as the young man s attention returned to his remaining two challengers, he found himself at the mercy of their combined power. The two Cogs hurled T.J. on to a wooden crate, resulting in the loud smacking of flesh against wood. Bravely, the young warrior grasped his stomach in pain, but found the strength to shoot a kick back into the torso of one of his attackers. As the damaged Cog fell to the floor, the other locked it s hands and raised them for an overhead strike, but T.J. dropped to the floor, and scissored the robot s knees, sending it face first into the crate. The wood splintered as the robotic soldier broke through it, and lay still on the cement floor.

No force imaginable could stop the flow of adrenaline through Tommy s body. Once again, the boy was back. Kicked into the grasp of robotic attacker, Tommy quickly wriggled out of his jacket, leaving the Cog empty handed. Yanking the jacket downward, along with the Cog that held it, the veteran Ranger smashed the golden domed head of the robot with his knee. He then leapt into the air, twirling into a cyclone spin kick that knocked against the side of another robot s cranium. As another soldier charged, a silver colored sword in it s grasp, Tommy ducked down, and back dropped his opponent high into the air, sending it crashing to the ground. His muscled burned, his breath was fast and hard. Now he remembered why he d loved this so much ..

Desperately trying to cover for Carter as he used his Rescue Blaster to free Leo and Aurico, Eric blocked a staff blow to his gut, and shoved the weapon back into the Cog s torso. He then flipped the weapon in a one hundred eighty degree vertical turn, sending the soldier flying on it s back. Suddenly, the Quantum Ranger felt something hard knock him in the back of his skull. Falling to face first to the floor, he saw the multicolored splotches start to appear in his field of vision.

This wasn t good.

Feeling two Cogs pull him up by his muscled arms, he could see just enough to make out another soldier in front of him, aiming a silver sword at his torso ..

Just then, a black clad form leapt in between him and the sword. Eric recognized the Aquitian prisoner, as he grasped the handle of the weapon, and flipped the Cog over. With the sword now in his own hands, the Aquitian executed a downward blow that severed the head of the attacker. Eric s two captors instantly tossed him aside, but they were too late. In one swift motion, Eric s savior swiped the blade at waist length, striking the two soldiers down.

Eric rose to his feet, standing face to face with the man who d rescued him.

Or rather, not a man at all. This being had a gold cranium, lined and dotted with purple. "What are you supposed to be?" he asked. "Sebastian, the Friendly Squid Ranger?"

The Aquitian frowned. "I am Aurico, Red Aquitian-"

"Look out!"

Using Eric s shoulders for leverage, Leo Corbett was able to flip over the two Rangers, and land in a head scissor position with a Cog, who held a sword in its hand. The Red Galaxy Ranger did a backflip, sending the soldier s head slamming into the concrete with his feet.

Leo rose to his feet, and looked to his wrist. "My morpher!" he shouted. "That robot has got my morpher!"

The four men looked to see the five generals walking out of the base, on to the rocky landscape of the moon.

"No!" Andros shouted. He couldn t let Steelon get away. He d waited to long to extract his vengeance. He took off in pursuit of the evil generals, but was stopped by an abrupt staff blow to the stomach. Andros felt the wind rush out of him as he collapsed to the floor. His attacker picked him up from the floor and tossed him into a pile of crates. As the dust scattered, Andros could feel the flames burning inside his stomach.

Not here, he told himself. And not now.

In a surge of adrenaline, and the heart of a lion, the Kerovan kipped up and axe kicked the weapon from the Cog s grasp. He then twirled into a back kick that knocked the robotic soldier on its rear end. As another swung at him with a sword, Andros ducked, and caught the soldier with it s arms up. As the Cog attempted to overpower him, the Kerovan, quickly moved out of the way, and released his grip. The weapon sliced through a crate, giving Andros the time he needed to deliver a second axe kick to the back of the Cog s skull. He turned to see the five Generals still leaving the base

Having acquired one of the Cog s staffs during the battle, Wes found it fairly simple to block an oncoming shot with another staff. He quickly countered with an overhead shot that silenced his attacker. Wes side stepped a punch, and then twirled around, executing a picture perfect trip using the staff. Suddenly, a laser blast bisected the weapon in his hands. Wes looked to see an uncoming Cog, blaster in hand. The Red Time Force Ranger took off in a sprint, lasers nipping at his heels. Somehow this all seemed familiar to him. Suddenly, a second laser blast cut his attacker off. Wes looked to see Carter rushing to his aid, Rescue Blaster in hand.

"Boy, it s lucky you have that thing." Wes commented.

"Yeah you re right." Carter replied.

Suddenly, the Red Lightspeed Ranger took off into a series off front flips, and executed a flying kick into a Cog. As another rushed at him, Carter shot up his forearm, smashing his attacker in the face. A third swiped at his neckline with a sword, but Carter ducked, and smashed the Cog s elbow, hyper-extending the joint. After flipping the robotic soldier over his shoulder, Carter shot a quick fist into the torso of his opponent, silencing him. Finally, a fourth attacker charged Carter with a staff. The young man blocked the staff blow, shot a knee into the Cog s torso, and then a second into it s face.

"I mean, I m just no good without it." He added.

Flaming fists and lightning fast kicks were just a taste of what Jason was dishing out. As a Cog swung a sword for his skull, Jason ducked, and let a high front kick take the sword from the Cog s grip. The original Red Ranger leapt into the air and caught the weapon, as he made his descent, two quick cross slashes put the robotic soldier down. Jason landed just in time to duck a flying kick from a second Cog, which he quickly slashed as well. But he wasn t fast enough to stop the third one, who used a side kick to knock the sword from Jason s grip. The Cog landed a fist to Jason s face, knocking him to the floor. The android then picked up the dormant sword, and swung for Jason s body .but found nothing. The robot felt a stiff kick to it s rear end, and tumbled into a nearby crate. A quick cyclone kick ended the fight.

Cole caught a high kick from a Cog, and back heel tripped it. As the robotic soldier fell to the ground, the Red Wild Force Ranger snapped a quick fist down into it s torso. He rose to see another charging him, staff held forward. Cole cleverly dodged, the weapon, and used the Cog s own momentum to propel the soldier into the air using his powerful arms. He bent his left knee down and out, and felt the Cog s body crash down on it. Quickly, he dodged a punch, and caught the new Cog s fist. He shot in a blow under its arm, and flipped it over. A stomp to the body silenced the Cog.

"My morpher!" Cole heard Leo shout. The young man looked to see the five generals walking from the battle scene. After feeling a hard kick between his shoulder blades, Cole hit the ground stomach first. But thinking fast, the Red Wild Force Ranger pushed himself up by his arms, and shot his feet up into the Cog s stomach. He then swung his foot around in a kick that echoed off the golden domed head of the soldier.

Cole instantly took off in a sprint, chasing Venjix and the others. He couldn t let a fellow Ranger s powers fall into the hands of the Machine Empire.

As he rushed out of the moon base, his lungs sucking in the air from the oxygen field, Cole noticed a square shaped control panel on the wall near the door. As he glanced to the top of the entrance, he noticed that a folded up steel door hung from above. The control panel must have controlled the rising and falling of the door. Feeling his heart pound with the intensity of the very Red Lion he commanded, Cole could hear his own boots pounding on the rocks below as he sprinted.

Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught a small, thin tube shooting out from Gerrok s wrist. Cole stopped dead in his tracks, and tried to go in reverse ..

but it was too late.

The ground around him burst into dust as Gerrok fired at him. Cole left his feet, and hit the ground hard. Thankfully, the laser blasts had not made direct contact, but had done an excellent job of shaking him up.

Then, he saw the five mechanical monsters step through the cloud of dust and debris. In Venjix s hand, he still gripped the Red Galaxy Transmorpher.

"Foolish vermin." Venjix spoke in an icy calm voice. Stretching out his free left hand, three twelve inch blades suddenly burst from the robot s wrist. "You will be the first to feel our wrath."

As Cole watched the evil Generals close in on him, his stomach tightened. But he was not afraid. He had never been afraid to die for the Earth.

He only wished he d been given a bit more respect at the end .. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Fear not little vermin," Venjix said as he rose the three wrist blades above his antennaed head. "You will only be the first to die. Soon, not only your friends, but your entire population will join you."

Suddenly, there was a loud clanging sound, as Steelon went down.

Venjix jerked his head to the left. "What?"

It was a chance that Cole couldn t afford to pass up.

The young man kicked Leo s Transmorpher out of the evil general s hand, and pushed off into a kick that connected with Venjix s torso. Venjix swung the blades down, but Cole was already gone, sprinting to grab the Transmorpher from the ground.

Venjix looked to his left, and let out a snarl from his voice modulator. "You!" He grabbed Andros by the back of his jacket, and yanked him into the air. Switching grips, the evil robot held the Kerovan in the air by his throat. Andros coughed and gagged as his lungs struggled for air. Venjix shook his head in dismay, and pull back the blades back yet again ..

Just then, two laser blasts exploded against the robot s torso. The evil general dropped Andros, and looked to see Carter and Jason rushing out to meet their adversaries. The other Rangers rushed close behind. But on their heels, Venjix s wounded army limped in chase.

"Eric!" Cole shouted to the Quantum Ranger, the last man out of the base. "The control panel!"

Eric s head swung to the right, and shot a quick jump kick into the control panel. He quickly was able to somersault under the falling door as it came crashing down. There was a loud creaking sound as three Cogs were crushed under its weight.

Tezzla grabbed Venjix by the shoulder. "General! All the other entrances are sealed! Our troops are trapped inside the base!"

Venjix looked to see his opposition standing before him. They were only thing standing between the Machine Empire, and Serpentera orchestrating the destruction of Earth. Ten Red Rangers, ten opposing vermin.

The ten human beings were tired, out of breath, and fatigued. The heat of battle had taken its toll on their bodies, but not their hearts. And as long as their human hearts still beat, they would be fighting for the Earth.

"Well then, Venjix growled. "I suppose we ll have to destroy them ourselves."

Jason looked to Tommy. "Well, what are we waitin for?"

The ten men looked to one another, and nodded.

It was time to turn on the power.

"It s morphin time!" Jason Lee Scott called.

From his back pocket, the original Red Ranger pulled out his Power Morpher. Inside the silver and red device was the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin, an artifact he thought he d never hold again. Gripping the morpher in his hand, he thrust his arms forward.

"Tyrannosaurus!" He shouted.

Jason morphed into the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger.

The Red Ranger s body quivered as the electricity soared through his body. Instantly, he was transported back to the glorious days of his youth. His visor, shaped in the form of a roaring Tyrannosaurus, and his chest, gloves, and boots were lined with red and white diamonds. It was time to step up one last time.

"Red Morphin Ranger!"

Aurico pulled his fist back against his chest.

"Red Aquitar Ranger power!"

Aurico morphed into the Red Aquitar Ranger.

Feeling the sheathed sword behind his back, Aurico s helmet had a golden plate perched above a rectangular visor. Over his chest was a white and gold V, with the black outline of a lightning bolt over his Aquitian heart.

He was fully aware of the risk of what he was attempting to do. But nonetheless, he knew it was his duty as a Power Ranger to protect the universe from the forces of evil. And now, once again, he found himself putting his very life on the line to protect the Earth.

Red Aquitar Ranger!

Tommy s body was alive with electricity, as the adrenaline soared through his nerves.

Now the time had come.

"It s morphin time!"

Flicking both his wrists, Tommy watched the Zeonizers materialize on his wrists. Holding them to the sky, he united them together as one.

"Zeo Ranger Five, Red!"

Tommy morphed into the Red Zeo Ranger.

Through his star shaped visor, Tommy once again saw the world through the eyes of a Power Ranger. The white and gold lined upon the chest of his red suit glistened in the light of the stars.

In this moment, Tommy Oliver was home.

Zeo Ranger Five, Red!

Gripping his new key in his right hand, Theodore J Jarvis Johnson flicked his left wrist. His brand new Turbo Morpher materialized instantaneously.

"Shift into Turbo!"

T.J. placed his key into the slot on his morpher, and turned it. The key and the morpher instantly charged into a bright red electricity, that engulfed his body.

"Red Lightning Turbo Power!"

T.J. morphed into the Red Turbo Ranger.

It all seemed so surreal. T.J. looked over to Tommy, remembering the day he had selected him to take his place as the leader of the Turbo Rangers. He d been so honored, so proud of the new gift he d been given. But when his powers had been destroyed, he couldn t help but feel like he had failed Tommy.

But now, the Red Turbo Ranger was back. His helmet made to look like the front end of a car, and his red suit, designed to resemble a chrome surface, T.J. clenched his gloved fist.

"Red Turbo Ranger!"

Andros eyes were flames of violent anger and rage as his body tensed. Long ago, someone had told him that it was impossible to get blood from a stone ..

But the Kerovan silently swore to himself that on this day, he would get blood to flow from steel. He had to, for himself, for the Earth .

..and for Ashley.

"Let s Rocket!" he called. He opened his Astro Morpher, and punched in 3-3-5.

Andros morphed into the Red Space Ranger.

Andros clenched his teeth for a moment, listening to the hiss of his breathing inside his helmet. Staring through his visor at Steelon, he knew the time to take his revenge was now.

"Red Space Ranger!"

For a brief moment, Leo Corbett s mind clicked to his friends on Mirinoi. Venjix s words had left a hole in his heart. The worst part was that deep down, the evil general may have been right about the settlers. And if he was, Leo s entire quest as a Power Ranger was nothing but sheer hypocracy.

But now was not the time for that.

Leo pressed the activation button on his Transmorpher.

"Go Galactic!"

Leo morphed into the Red Galaxy Ranger.

Feeling the power of the Red Quasar Saber flowing through him, Leo stood ready for battle.

"Galaxy Red!"

"Lightspeed Rescue!"

Carter opened his Rescue Morpher, and let the power engulf his body.

Carter morphed into the Red Lightspeed Ranger.

As he stood on the moon s rocky surface, once again a Power Ranger, Carter s thoughts dwelled on his Father. Although Captain Mitchell had taught him how to be a hero, and Tommy had taught him how to be a Power Ranger, his father had taught him how to be a man.

This was for him.

"Red Ranger, Rescue Ready!"

Wes glanced down at his Chrono Morpher, a device not meant for this time period. His powers had come from the future, the year 3000, an era otherwise unimaginable in their time. As a Time Force Ranger, Wes had come to learn so much about man s future.

But if they failed here and now, man had no future.

He activated his Chrono Morpher.

"Time for Time Force!"

Wes morphed into the Red Time Force Ranger.

Comprised of the colors red, white, and black, the Red Time Force Ranger s helmet had a triangular visor, with a larger triangular pattern on his chest.

The future was once again in his hands.

Red Time Force Ranger!

Eric Meyers was not a people person. He remembered one of his second grade report cards had even said: "Does not play well with others." For him, that was all well and good. Eric liked going it alone. It was just his style.

But he knew that this was something he could never accomplish alone. Only working together with Wes, Cole, Carter, and the rest of his newfound allies could the Earth be saved.

And he supposed that too, was all well and good.  
>He activated his Chrono Morpher.<p>

"Quantum Power!"

Eric morphed into the Quantum Ranger.

Eric s costume was quite similar to Wes , in that the design was nearly the same, except that Eric s was mostly red and black. On his belt was his Quantum Defender gun.

"Quantum Ranger!"

Cole breathed a sigh in anticipation of the battle to come. He looked over to his new teammates, his brothers in red. For years these men had carried on the legacy of the Power Rangers, a legacy that had begun when Cole was only a child.

But now he was here with them, a part of that legacy. And to him, here was no greater honor than to be called a hero.

Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out his Growl Phone Morpher.

"Wild Access!"

Cole morphed into the Red Wild Force Ranger.

Cole s outfit was comprised of a lion shaped helmet, and was lined with white and gold. His gloved fingers were tipped with red claws.

"Red Wild Force Ranger!"

The five Machine Empire generals stood their ground. "Ten Red Rangers ." Vennjix growled. "How ironic, that the blood that will soon spatter across the moon rocks will be as red as the costumes they wear...

The Red Zeo Ranger looked back at his teammates. "Alright guys, we re here to save the Earth. Let s do it!"

With that, the ten Red Rangers charged their adversaries. Suddenly, the Sea of Tranquility wasn t so tranquil anymore

Venjix motioned with his fingers for Cole to come forth. "Come on little vermin, show me what you ve got "

Cole nodded his helmet, and scratched his claws against the rough, coarse ground. He took off in a sprint for his adversary, listening the wind cut around his body.

The Red Wild Force Ranger leapt into a flying kick that targeted Venjix s torso, but the evil general threw a kick of his own up that connected with Cole s chest. He felt his chest heave as his forward momentum was cut off. His body slumped to the ground. Venjix swung down with his blades, but Cole did a reverse somersault, and the robot made contact with the ground. The young man then kipped up, and executed a cyclone kick that Venjix ducked under. Cole swung downward with his claws, but the evil general blocked the blow, and hit his opponent with a body shot that knocked the Red Wild Force Ranger to the ground. Venjix tried the blades again. Cole caught the evil general s fist just before it made contact. Through his visor, he could see the razor sharp tips pressing down upon him.

Suddenly, Cole caught sight of the Red Morphin Ranger soaring above them. Jason hit a flying kick on Venjix, and then kicked off his opponent s body with the opposite foot. Venjix staggered backward, gripping his chest.

Jason looked back to Cole. "Hang back rookie, let me show you how it s done!"

Under his helmet, Cole grimaced. There was that word again .

The Red Morphin Ranger took off into a run, and leapt into the air, using his powers to levitate into a spinning torpedo kick that sent sparks flying from Venjix s torso.

Moments later, the evil general lay motionless on the ground.

Cole stood in awe as Jason walked over to Venjix s dormant figure. He shook his head. "Still number one!"

Suddenly, Venjix swung upward with his blades. Slashing Jason across the stomach. The Red Morphin Ranger screamed as his body spun around from the force of the attack, sparks flying.

The evil general stood up. "Yes ..my number one victim."

Just then, Cole leapt into the air and tackled the leader of the Machine Empire. The Red Wild Force Ranger instantly jammed the claw of his right thumb into Venjix s left visual modifier. He felt a bit of voltage surge through his hand as the evil general s face crackle with electricity.

Venjix arched his knees up into Cole s lower back, and then scraped his blades down Cole s body. The Red Ranger howled in pain, his chest and stomach feeling as if they were on fire. He wrapped himself into a protective ball, as Venjix felt his metallic face. It didn t take long for the evil general to realize that his left visual modifier was no longer functional.

"You sick disease bag ." Venjix muttered. He reached his hand to his right hip, and dragged a long black sword from a hidden compartment on his waist,

The evil general looked to Jason, who was slowly rising to his feet. "Give it up Ranger. I m more powerful than your human mind could ever possibly conceive."

Under his helmet, Jason growled. "So swordplay is your game huh?" With those words, the Red Morphin flicked his gloved wrist. Instantaneously, a sword of his own appeared in his right hand. The Red Power Sword, decorated with a red grip, and the Tyrannosaurus insignia etched just below the blade.

"Alright then," he said, gripping the sword tight, and focusing on the opponent standing before him. "Let s play."

Jason charged the evil general. Venjix held his sword in his right hand, and let his left wield his three protruding blades.

Venjix swung down with the sword, but Jason blocked, and ducked a left hook. The Red Ranger jabbed at Venjix s knee, but the robot blocked it with his blades. Jason then shot in a kick to the stomach. Venjix staggered backward a bit, but then pushed off into a curved swipe with his blades and sword respectively. Jason rolled out of dudge, and quickly used his powers to charge up the sword. A bright red light illuminated from the Tyrannosaurus insignia spread up the blade. Even through his suit, Jason could feel the heat emitting from the weapon. Crying out with a "Hi Yah!" Jason swung the sword downward.

There was a small explosion as Power Sword severed the blades on Venjix s left wrist.

Smoke emitted from the robot s left wrist as he looked it over with his good eye. Crying out in an emotionless battle cry, Venjix swiped his sword upward, cutting the Red Ranger diagonally across his chest.

Jason readied himself for another attack, when Cole touched him on the shoulder. "Feel like teaming with a rookie?"

The Red Morphin Ranger looked down to see his partner s Crystal Saber in his gloved hand. He hesitated for a brief second, but then nodded. "Sure. Two Rangers will always be better than one!"

Venjix wobbled a bit, slightly unsteady from the damage he d sustained. Yet he still motioned for the Rangers to come forth.

Jason and Cole did not wait long to oblige him. The two Red Rangers charged forward. Venjux blocked two respective shots, and then swiped his weapon across their stomachs. The two men flew backward, but sucked it up to perform two downward swipes simultaneously. The evil robot overhead blocked the two swords, but Jason and Cole held the blow down, testing the strength of General Venjix. The combined effort of both men seemed to be enough to overpower the robot. But Venjix surprised the two menby suddenly charging his sword. The electric current from the sword transferred from Venjix s weapon to the Rangers , and resulted in an explosion that sent all three opponents to the ground.

Cole breathed hard under his helmet. Even with the protection of his powers, Venjix was beginning to live up to his own words

Jason helped Cole up. "C mon kid," he urged. "Don t quit on me!"

The Red Wild Force Ranger shook his head adamantly. "No way!"

The two Red Rangers charged their swords, the bright red glow lighting up the dull gray surface of the moon. As they did so, Venjix charged his own weapon, and shot a beam of black energy toward his opponents. Uniting their weapons into an X formation, the Rangers blocked the blast. But oddly, the black glow did not die. Jason and Cole looked on in are as the black seemed to merge with the red, and form one large pulsating power surge between the swords.

Jason and Cole looked at one another.

"Whenever you re ready old timer." Cole said, nodding.

"How bout now Neptune boy?"

The two Red Rangers thrust their swords forward, shooting the beam straight toward Venjix. There was a gigantic explosion as the power was released, and hit the leader of the Machine Empire head on.

As the smoke cleared, and the dust and rubble settled, there was no sign of General Venjix. Jason and Cole each breathed a sigh of relief. Venjix was gone, and the Earth was safe at last.

Through his visor, Cole eyed the Red Morphin Ranger. All that he d ever wanted from Jason was a little respect. After all, he d grown to admire him so much over the past forty eight hours.

He only hoped that after this fight, Jason had grown to admire him too.

Cole looked over to his partner. "Nice job Jason."

Jason nodded to Cole. "Yeah rookie, you-"

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound beneath the rubble.

"You sniveling little humans ." Venjix growled, fighting his way out of the mess. "You just can t understand .that I am invincible!" 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Gerrok focused his optical modifiers on his two adversaries: the Red Zeo Ranger and the Red Time Force Ranger. He pressed a button on his left forearm. Instantly, his mechanical left hand sunk into his arm, and was replaced by a set of green pincers, similar to the ones on his robotic cranium. He scissored them, and turned up his audio receptors.

The robot focused on the Red Time Force Ranger. His movements made it evident that he was the younger of the two. For humans, Gerrok knew, youth meant additional speed, and possibly stamina.

But it also meant naivety.

Though the evil general was far more focused on the Red Zeo Ranger. It had been this man and his teammates that had defeated King Mondo all those years ago, and tarnished the grand legacy of the Machine Empire. Now he stood in the way of Venjix s eventual domination of the universe.

A universe that Gerrok would then take for himself.

Venjix was a fool, Gerrok knew. His acquisition of Serpentera had made him far too overconfident. Gerrok had warned him about the possibility of Power Ranger interference, but he had foolishly dismissed it as impossible. Now they were all paying the price for his idiocy.

With any luck, the Rangers would destroy Venjix themselves, and do Gerrok s work for him.

Suddenly, Gerrok s audio receptors picked up the sound of the Red Zeo Ranger s heart beating. The robot noted that it s pace was much quicker than the average human heart.

He checked his databanks. Increased heart rate: a sign of fear.

Gerrok scissored the pincer on his arm. "Afraid, Ranger?"

There was a moment of silence between the three warriors ..

Finally, Tommy nodded his head. "Terrified."

Wes head jerk to the right, surprised at his partner. Gerrok didn t blame him for being afraid. But never before had any opponent of his admitted fear before. The robot was at a loss for words.

Beneath his helmet, Tommy s eyes were rock hard. He wasn t playing a head game. Though he supposed head games wouldn t work on a robot anyway. He truly was afraid. But it was a different kind of fear than most people knew. He wasn t afraid of Gerrok, nor was he afraid of dying. Tommy Oliver was afraid of failure. Failure would ultimately result in certain doom for the universe he d protected during his teenage years, and was now protecting again.

He remembered talking to Jason about their families back in the eatery of the Megaship. Failure would also result in certain doom for the family Tommy had started back on Earth. That alone seemed to make protecting the rest of the planet a secondary quest.

But a fear of failure was different. It was a fear that fueled you.

Tommy nodded to Wes, and then looked back toward Gerrok. "Terrified of what will happen if we don t blast you to bits across the moon."

Gerrok s posture shifted. "We ll just have to find out for ourselves won t we?"

"No," Tommy said. "We won t."

The Red Zeo Ranger slapped the Red Time Force Ranger on the chest. "Go Wes!" Tommy then leapt into the air, using the power of the Zeo Crystal to extend the power of the jump. He did a front flip in mid air and positioned himself for a flying kick down on his opponent.

But he surprised the robot by landing on his feet just a few feet away.

Gerrok never saw the slash from Wes Chrono Saber coming.

Sparks flew from Gerrok s torso as the evil general flew back ward, managing to catch himself on his left knee. Using the thin blaster on his wrist, Gerrok fired at his enemies. Tommy went down, but Wes was able to block the various shots by energizing his Chrono Saber and batting away the blasts. Frustrated, Gerrok charged the Red Time Force Ranger. He swung down with his pincers, but Wes ducked out of the way. Gerrok blocked a shot to the shoulder, and then swung a punch to the skull. Wes was able to duck, and then slice down ward. Gerrok got left arm up, and then shot a laser blast into Wes chest. The Red Time Force Ranger flew back a few feet, before landing hard on his back.

But just as Wes kipped up, Tommy leapt in with a flying kick that Gerrok was just able to dodge. As the Red Zeo Ranger landed, the evil general was able to clasp his pincers around the waist of his opponent. Tommy had one quick moment to look up into the flaming red eyes of the robot, before his stomach twisted along with his body as Gerrok flipped him over his head. A small cloud of dust formed as his body hit the ground with a sickening thud. Gerrok raised his pincer arm into the air to strike down, but Wes quickly inserted his Chrono Saber between the two steel pieces, blocking the blow. Frustrated, Gerrok used his robotic strength to yank his left arm up, sending the sword flying out of his opponent s grip. One kick to the chest later, both the robot s opponent s were down.

Gerrok once again attemped to finish off Tommy. But the Red Zeo Ranger caught the pincers with his powerful arms. After pulling them down toward his waist, Tommy surprised his opponent by using his abdominal strength to swing his legs up and catch Gerrok in a head scissors. The evil general struggled for a moment, but his fate was unavoidable. His head landed hard on the rocky ground, denting the set of pincers on his cranium.

With his cybernetic brain in a dizzied state, Gerrok rose to his feet. And shot a storm of laser fire at his two opponents. Tommy and Wes managed to leapt out of dodge using their quick reflexes, and mighty acrobatic skills.

Wes looked to his partner. "I think it s time we return to sender."

Tommy nodded. "I think you re right." The Red Ranger proceeded to remove his Zeo Laser pistol from it s holster on his belt.

"V Weapon!" Wes called. Instantly, a white and red blaster cannon appeared in the Red Time Force Ranger s grasp. He promptly aimed it at his opponent.

The two Red Rangers did not hesitate to aim and fire on Gerrok.

But the evil general made an unexpected move. As the two men fired, they noticed a blue electric current forming in between the pincers. They were not fast enough to move as Gerrok caught their combined blast in his left grasp and flung it back at his opponents. The impact of the blast sent Tommy and Wes flying high into the air.

Looking up through the flames and dust, the Red Zeo Ranger caught sight of Gerrok picked Wes Chrono Saber up from the ground.

"No!" Tommy creid. He winced, feeling a sharp pain shoot up his leg as he took off toward his opponent. Flicking his wrist, he felt his Zeo Five Sword materialize in his gloved hand. Gerrok s head twisted around toward Tommy, shocked to see him back up so soon. He shot another stream of laser fire at the Red Zeo Ranger, but much like Wes had done earlier, Tommy was able to bat away the blasts with his sword. He took a downward swipe at Gerrok, which the robot blocked with Wes Chrono Saber. He blocked a shot with the pincers, and then swung down again. Gerrok blocked yet again, and then opened the pincers, attempting to catch Tommy in his grasp yet again. But the Red Ranger surprised the robot by bringing the sword in close. Gerrok grabbed his opponent, as well as the sword in his hand. Tommy pulled the sword downward, creating a loud screeching sound as the steel cut the steel.

Gerrok s left pincher fell to the ground.

With his opponent stunned, Tommy used the opportunity to swing around in a back kick that flipped the evil general over. He stabbed downward with his sword, but Gerrok blocked it with the Chrono Saber. The robot batted the attack away and slashed his opponent across the chest. The attack sent Tommy twirling backward, but he didn t see Wes coming up behind him. The Red Time Force Ranger had pulled his Chrono Blaster from it s holster, and had leapt into the air. Landing atop Tommy s shoulders, Wes did a second flip into the air, and shot down at Gerrok. Moon rocks exploded around the evil general, but it was not enough to detain him. Gerrok returned fire with his right wrist cannon, sending Wes falling to the ground.

Tommy rushed up beside his partner. "He s got your saber ."

Wes looked up at Tommy. "Oh no ..we ve got to get it!"

The veteran ranger patted the younger man on the shoulder. "Take the rear. Let s see how this robot likes going up against a real swordsman."

Tommy took off into a sprint, making sure he heard Wes footsteps behind him. His mind flashed back to his teen years, recollecting the many styles and techniques he d used with Saba, the talking sword he d wielded as the White Ranger.

Being careful to avoid the remaining right pincer on Gerrok s left hand, Tommy engaged the evil general in a sword fight. Tommy was the aggressor at first, striking blows to various parts of the robot s mechanical body. But Gerrok was not a subtle fighter, and swung various blows toward the head and neck. He was obviously trying to execute the killing blow as quickly as possible.

Tommy recognized the signs of a desperate warrior.

Finally, as the Chrono Saber collided with the Zeo Five Sword just above Tommy s eye level, the Red Zeo Ranger was able to slide out of the way, and catch Gerrok in an arm bar. "Go for it Wes!" he shouted.

Anxious to get his weapon back, the Red Time Force Ranger aimed and fired on the hand of the evil general. The hand, as well as the Chrono Saber, went flying through the air.  
>As Tommy slashed Gerrok down to the ground, Wes ran to scoop his weapon up from the ground. Nodding to Tommy, he charged it.<p>

"Hey tin man." He called to the evil general. "Your time s up."

Wes leapt into the air, watching Tommy back off as he twirled the sword in a clockwise maneuver, and then swung the energized blade down.

"Time Strike!"

There was a small explosion as the weapon slashed vertically down Gerrok s body. As a result, the robot began to crackle with blue electricity.

With another flick of the wrist, the Zeo Five Sword was gone, and Tommy s mind transferred to a state of deadly focus. Suddenly, the world around him ceased to exist, and there was only himself and Gerrok. A martial arts teacher had taught him this state of mind a long time ago. Discipline, focus, self control, these were the things that had made Tommy the Power Ranger that he d been all those years ago.

And the Power Ranger he was now.

He felt his body tingle with the power of the mighty Zeo Crystal, as he took off into a run. Slowly, a bright red glow began to engulf his body, just like Wes Chrono Saber.

He d been born for this.

"Zeo Flying Power Kick!" he called. With those words, Tommy launched himself into the air, aiming a kick straight for Gerrok, the power of the Zeo Crystal gave him additional power, speed, and balance.

He knew the fight was over when he felt the robot s chest cave in.

The impact of the blow sent Gerrok flying through the air. The evil general let out a lifeless cry of agony as he flew to his demise, crashing into a stone wall lining the edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Gerrok instantly burst into flames, his once green form crashing lifelessly to the ground.

Tommy slapped hands with Wes. "Nice job."

Wes nodded. "You too. You ve still got it man."

Under his helmet Tommy smiled, realizing Wes was right. The teenager inside of him had returned for just one day .

..to be victorious one more time. 


End file.
